Sapphire 

Sapphire comes from the Greek word for blue, sappheiros , and this gem provides the most beautiful blues of the gem kingdom.  The ancient Persians believed the earth rests on a giant Sapphire.  Its reflection, they said, made the sky blue.

Sapphire is the original “true blue”: the gem of fidelity and of the soul.  In ancient times, a gift of a Sapphire was a pledge of trust, honesty, purity, and loyalty.  This tradition makes Sapphire a popular choice for engagement rings.

But Sapphire doesn't have to be blue to be beautiful.  Sapphire also comes in beautiful pinks, yellows, oranges, and peach and violet colours.  These other colours are often referred to as fancy Sapphire.  In fact, Sapphire comes in every colour but red, because a red Sapphire would be a ruby: both are the mineral corundum.

The most sought after colour of fancy Sapphire is the rare and beautiful Padparadscha Sapphire: a pink-orange corundum with a distinctive salmon colour reminiscent of a tropical sunset.  Found mostly in Sri Lanka, these ultra-rare, ultra-expensive stones are among the most coveted gems in the world.

Pink Sapphires are a current fashion favourite.  jewellery designers are setting Sapphires in bubblegum and powder puff hues in platinum or white gold in exquisite styles adorned with pave diamonds.

As designers have delighted in pink Sapphires, they have also begun to discover related hues such as violet, purple, and a bright reddish-orange some call "papaya."

With earth tones now featured in clothing, jewellery manufacturers have begun to explore corundum's extensive range of yellow, golden, and orange shades.

Sapphire is the official birthstone for the month of September.  It is also one of the birth stones for the Zodiac signs of Pisces, Taurus, Virgo and Sagittarius.  Sapphire is given as a gem for the 5th, 23rd and 45th wedding anniversaries while a star Sapphire is given on the 65th wedding anniversary.

Sapphire is the non-red variety of corundum (the red variety of corundum is Ruby).  A 9.0 on the Mohs scale of hardness, Sapphire is the second hardest natural mineral after diamond.

A rare variety of Sapphire, known as colour changing Sapphire, exhibits different colours in different light.  A colour change Sapphire is blue in natural light, and violet in artificial light.  A similar effect is also seen in alexandrite.

Sapphire was first created synthetically in 1902 and is hard to distinguish from natural Sapphires except by gemologists.  Lab grown Sapphires range in price and smaller stones are frequently used in less expensive jewellery.

Legend and Healing Properties

Its powers include spiritual enlightenment and inner peace.  Sapphire is believed to offer healing properties for rheumatism, colic, and mental illness.  It is also considered an antidepressant and an aid to psycho kinesis, telepathy, clairvoyance and astral projection.

Star Sapphires

Fine, needle-like inclusions are what give Sapphires their velvety quality. When these inclusions are numerous enough to make the stone translucent or opaque and are oriented properly, they allow light to be reflected in such a way that a star floats across the top of the stone with movement.
 
When a cutter recognizes this potential in a piece of rough Sapphire, he will cut it in a dome shape.  Stars are not visible in faceted stones.

The Sinhalese believed the star Sapphire would protect them against witchcraft.  The three intersecting rays were thought to represent faith, hope and destiny. 

Museums the world over exhibit star Sapphires that are noteworthy for size or quality.  The 543-carat "Star of India" resides in the Morgan-Tiffany Collection in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.