Sapphire 蓝宝石

xyzphoto 宝玉石介绍 Gemstone Introduction

Deposit sites: Thailand, Burma, Kampuchea, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Australia, India, Pakistan, Tanzania, and U.S.A.

Group: Corundum

Hardness: 9

Zodiacal sign: Taurus, Virgo, Pisces, Aquarius, Leo

Color scheme: Very light to very dark violetish blue to greenish blue.

Gemstone of the month: September, 5th and 45th Wedding Anniversaries.

Large high quality sapphires are rare and prized, and the best examples have found their way into public and private collections worldwide.

During the thirteen century the Italian explorer Marco Polo was supplied with sapphires from Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. Marco Polo used the gems as an entree into the countries he traveled through and was rewarded by the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan in part because of his gift of sapphires.

Hundreds of year’s sapphires have been worn to treat diseases of the eyes and as good luck talismans. Joan Evans in her book Magical Jewels of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance quotes Robert Burton who says, “It (the sapphire) is the fairest of all precious stones of the sky color, and a great enemy to black choler, frees the minds, and mends manners”.