Sapphire

If you were born in September, then sapphire is your birthstone. Sapphires commemorate the 5th and 45th wedding anniversaries. Sapphire was believed to guard purity and prevent unchastity.

Sapphires come in a wide range of colors, not just the more commonly seen blue. Pink, white, yellow, purple, violet, denim, brown, red, and orange sapphires can be found. Several sapphires also exhibit a phenomina known as astarism.These sapphires, usually referred to as star sapphires come in several colors. The star that is seen within these stones represent faith, hope and charity. Star sapphires were believed to protect the wearer from the evil eye and other curses. The gemstones were such a strong tailismen that their protection was believed to linger long after they had left the original owner. Star sapphires occur in black, blue, pink and violet.

Sapphire is a member of the corundum mineral group. Sapphire has a hardness of 9 and a specific gravity of 4.0. Sapphires are found in Thailand, Myanmar, Kampuchea, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Australia, Tanzania and Madagascar.

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