This is not a correct description of sapphire at all! Sapphire doesn’t have ‘spots of gold’, most certainly can be tinged with purple and is transparent. It is also sometimes rarely blue tinged with purple. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder described what he called ‘sapphire’ this way: “Sapphirus contains spots like gold. So, it was actually lapis lazuli that was meant in the bible. And although emerald was known to the ancient world as such, we know that what was meant at the time with sapphire was actually the ancient word for… lapis lazuli! Another special, cobalt blue, opaque gemstone with golden specks. And also matters like durability and a stone’s inherent sparkle or brilliance are looked at.ĭigressing and more on that in another blogpost.Īctually, I just meant that we still consider emerald and sapphire as high-end treasures today. Gemologists actually don’t divide gemstones according to that distinction of precious and semi-precious at all □ It’s an outdated and oversimplified way of looking at gemstones! Instead, gemstones ought to be assessed on an individual basis according to several different criteria, such as the famous 4Cs (which system actually comes from the diamond grading world but is also being used for coloured gemstone-grading - with some different emphases placed here and there). In fact, in the bible, there are 12 gems mentioned but of those 12, only the emerald and sapphire are still considered "precious" today.īy the way, I don’t use "precious" here in the sense of precious and semi-precious gemstones. They preserved the wearer from envy and were thought to attract divine favour.īlue sapphires were also a holy stone to the Catholic church and to several other religions the blue colour represented the heavens. In the Middle Ages, blue sapphires were often worn by royalty as amulets to ward off evil. Also, the ancient Greeks and Romans believed that blue sapphires held mystical powers and gave their owners wisdom and health. In old Persian lore, the Earth was said to be balanced on top of an enormous sapphire and they believed its reflection gave the sky its blue colour. Let’s dive into some of the lore and legends to which blue sapphire has been connected.
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