4.4 ct oval facet purple blue sapphire gemstone
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| Main centres: | 1-3 business days |
| Regional areas: | 3-4 business days |
| Remote areas: | 3-5 business days |
Product details
| Gemstone type | Sapphire |
| Weight | 4.4 carats |
| Size | 11.1 x 8.4 x 6.1 mm |
| Colour in shade | Dark violet with purple flashes |
| Colour in sun | Violet with purple flashes |
| Clarity | IF |
| Cut | Oval facet |
| Lustre | Excellent |
| Hardness | 9 |
| Treatment | Heated & treated |
| Origin | Brazil |
| Quantity | 1 |
| Other |
These blue purple sapphires are fascinating gems. If you look at them perpendicular to the face, they are a violet blue in the middle, and a pink purple at either end of the major axis. The colours shift as you move the gem around! This effect is called pleochroism, and is due to sapphire having two distinct refractive indexes in the orthogonal crystal axes. The colours are due to traces of iron and titanium (which you normally find in blue sapphires) as well as chromium and vanadium.
Most other gems are pleochroic as well, but usually not as pronounced as this sapphire. For instance, aquamarine will change from a lighter to a darker shade of blue green as you move the gem. But this sapphire is special. Instead of merely changing shade, it displays two well-defined colours in its makeup! The colours remind me of a bed of pink and blue hydrangeas. Tibouchinas have a similar colouration.
In the images below, I have tried to capture what these gems look like under various lighting conditions. This is a 5.7 ct purple blue sapphire (no, it is not for sale - don't even ask!). The first picture was taken without flash. The gem was stuck into a lump of Prestick.
The second and third picture were taken with a flash. You can see the distinct pleochroism as I move the gem through 90 degrees.
The colour of this sapphire may remind you of amethyst, but that is where the similarity ends. Sapphire is a corundum, so it has a much higher refractive index than amethyst. This means that it has much more glitter, flash and fire than an amethyst. A dark amethyst is pleasant to look at in bright sunlight, but is quite dull in a dark room. The opposite is true of purple sapphires. They are painful to look at in bright sunlight, because they sparkle so much, but are very attractive in shade.
I have other interesting gems for sale on BoB. You can see them here
Shipping All items are sent by S.A. Post Office Registered Mail. I will combine items at no extra cost. Certificates I don't offer a certificate because my gems are not particularly valuable. The courier charges and the lab report would cost more than the gems are worth. In my opinion, most valuation certificates are wildly optimistic and hopelessly unrealistic about the estimated retail value of the appraised gem. Try selling it for the quoted value! The only reason for quoting such an inflated value is to make the buyer feel good about buying the gem at a price much below "market value", i.e. the buyer thinks he is getting a bargain Payment BoBPay EFT only. You can do this from most South African bank accounts. When making a payment, please use the reference number the Bid or Buy system allocates to your order. You have 7 days to pay for your order. If you have not paid within 7 days, your order will be cancelled and the items re-listed. General Orders will be processed and posted within 1 - 2 working days. I will send you a SAPO tracking number via E-mail. I recommend insuring your item, because the SAPO has a patchy track record. |