1.5 carat Blue Ceylon Sapphire

Ceylon Blue Sapphire Gemstone (1.51 ct) 9x7 mm Oval

Product description: Sapphire is found in only a few locations in the world. The three most famous regions for blue sapphire are Kashmir, Burma and Sri Lanka. Sapphire has also been mined in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and India. As of 2007, Madagascar has been leading the world in sapphire production, though Sri Lanka continues to be the only steady producer of fine quality blue sapphire. Most natural sapphire is quite pale and light in color. Only a small percentage of natural sapphire exhibits vivid and intense colors without some type of treatment or enhancement, the most common being heat-treatment. Sri Lankan and Madagascar sapphires are the most common today, with a wide range of colors from light blue to dark blue. With blue sapphire, the intensity of blue is the most important factor. For example, a huge sapphire with a washed-out, weak blue color is much less valuable than a much smaller stone of excellent color. An intense, rich pure cornflower blue that is not too dark or too 'inky' is the most desirable colour. Overall, sapphires that are too dark or too light in color are less valuable, but light-blue sapphires often have greater brilliance that is rarely found in darker blue stones. The parcel these stones originated from was an artisanal mine in south east Sri Lanka (also called Ceylon).