Africa's Rainbow Gemstone

The name Sapphire (Greek meaning blue)used to be applied to any blue stone but in the 1800's it was recognised that sapphire and ruby are gem varieties of the mineral corundum. Red corundum is Ruby and blue corundum is Sapphire, any other color is called fancy sapphire.

Mined in East Africa since the 1950's, fancy sapphire comes in a vivid array of colors; there are in fact 67 different colors of fancy sapphire. The Umba river valley, in Tanzania, produces most of these colors including lovely canary yellow sapphire and African Padparadscha, a pastel orangy pink, which is highly prized and very rare.

Lapigems Gem Company began as a mining concern in 1974 mining sapphire and fancy sapphire in the northern frontier district of Kenya, in East Africa.(See our History Timeline). Hence, we have had a close relationship with this wonderful gem for many years. We specialize in yellow sapphires (often called "joyish yellow sapphires") but also deal in some lovely pinks and purples and even some greens a virtual sapphire rainbow! See our Private Fancy Sapphire Collection

See our Private Fancy Sapphire Gem Stone Collection!

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN FANCY SAPPHIRE

Yellow sapphires are the most undervalued of the entire sapphire group. They occur from very small to hundreds of carats in size. The finest examples are natural golden in color, which are still very rare and have much more luster than their heated counterparts. Because their color so enhances blue and pink stones, they are used to great advantage in mixed color sets. Also, as yellow diamonds have become more and more valuable, yellow sapphire has been used in more important jewelry as a more affordable alternative that is no less beautiful...and in fact can be a good deal more intense. The four major types are Ceylonese, which tend to be the full range of color from pale yellow to golden; Australians, which tend to have a less desirable brown co-factor and sometimes stripes of blue that cast a greenish tinge; Thai, which also have a bit of blue to give them a greenish character and the Garbatulla material form Northern Kenya which is naturally a very bright yellow.

Sri Lanka also produces many pretty shades of pink, tending towards the lighter side and some with tinges of violet and purple. The higher-intensity, higher grade of pink sapphire often come from Burma, though they do not always have the eye-pleasing clarity of the Sri Lankan stones. Other popular sources are Vietnam, Madagascar and Tunduru in Tanzania which produces some lovely sharp color. A new find in the Baringo area of Kenya is also looking promising.

BUY FINE FANCY SAPPHIRE GEM STONES AND BROWSE OUR PRIVATE FANCY SAPPHIRE COLLECTION

Lapigems Gem Company is a member of / staff hold qualifications from the following leading Gemological Organizations