Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide (α-Al2O3) with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin sapphirus from the Greek sappheiros (σάπφειρος), which referred to lapis lazuli. It is typically blue, but natural "fancy" sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, and green colors; "parti sapphires" show two or more colors. Red corundum stones also occur, but are called rubies rather than sapphires. Pink-colored corundum may be classified either as ruby or sapphire depending on locale. Commonly, natural sapphires are cut and polished into gemstones and worn in jewelry. They also may be created synthetically in laboratories for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphires – 9 on the Mohs scale (the third hardest mineral, after diamond at 10 and moissanite at 9.5) – sapphires are also used in some non-ornamental applications, such as infrared optical components, high-durability windows, wristwatch crystals and movement bearings, and very thin electronic wafers, which are used as the insulating substrates of special-purpose solid-state electronics such as integrated circuits and GaN-based blue LEDs. Sapphire is the birthstone for September and the gem of the 45th anniversary. A sapphire jubilee occurs after 65 years.
A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum. Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires. Ruby is one of the traditional cardinal gems, alongside amethyst, sapphire, emerald, and diamond. The word ruby comes from ruber, Latin for red. The color of a ruby is due to the element chromium.
The Argyle Diamond Mine was a diamond mine located in the East Kimberley region in the remote north of Western Australia. Argyle was at times the largest diamond producer in the world by volume, although the proportion of gem-quality diamonds was low. It was the only known significant source of pink and red diamonds, and additionally provided a large proportion of other naturally coloured diamonds, including champagne, cognac and rare blue diamonds.
A chemically pure and structurally perfect diamond is perfectly transparent with no hue, or color. However, in reality almost no gem-sized natural diamonds are absolutely perfect. The color of a diamond may be affected by chemical impurities and/or structural defects in the crystal lattice. Depending on the hue and intensity of a diamond's coloration, a diamond's color can either detract from or enhance its value. For example, most white diamonds are discounted in price when more yellow hue is detectable, while intense pink diamonds or blue diamonds can be dramatically more valuable. Of all colored diamonds, red diamonds are the rarest. The Aurora Pyramid of Hope displays a spectacular array of naturally colored diamonds, including red diamonds.
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is a nonprofit institute based in Carlsbad, California. It is dedicated to research and education in the field of gemology and the jewelry arts. Founded in 1931, GIA's mission is to protect buyers and sellers of gemstones by setting and maintaining the standards used to evaluate gemstone quality. The institute does so through research, gem identification and diamond grading services and a variety of educational programs. Through its library and subject experts, GIA acts as a resource of gem and jewelry information for the trade, the public and media outlets.
The Pink Star, formerly known as the Steinmetz Pink, is a diamond weighing 59.60 carats, rated in color as Fancy Vivid Pink by the Gemological Institute of America. The Pink Star was mined by De Beers in 1999 in South Africa, and weighed 132.5 carats in the rough. The Pink Star is the largest known diamond having been rated Vivid Pink. As a result of this exceptional rarity, the Beny Steinmetz Group called Steinmetz Diamonds took a cautious 20 months to cut the Pink. It was unveiled in Monaco on 29 May 2003 in a public ceremony.
The Pumpkin Diamond is a diamond weighing 5.54 carats rated in color as Fancy Vivid Orange by the Gemological Institute of America. While this may seem small when compared to other famous diamonds, the Pumpkin Diamond is, in fact, one of the largest Fancy Vivid Oranges the GIA reports having rated and is unique compared to other orange diamonds because it is light-colored and notably intense. The Pumpkin Diamond was mined in Central African Republic and then imported into South Africa for sale, it was later cut and polished by William Goldberg, and put to auction at Sotheby's where it was bought by Ronald Winston of the House of Harry Winston for the price of $1.3 million. It is currently estimated to be valued at $3 million.
Diamonds were largely inaccessible to investors until the recent advent of regulated commodities, due to a lack of price discovery and transparency. The characteristics of individual diamonds, especially the carat weight, color and clarity, have significant impact on values, but transactions were always private. With the standardized commodity as an underlying asset, several market traded financial instruments have been announced.
Diamond is one of the best-known and most sought-after gemstones. They have been used as decorative items since ancient times.
The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond is a 31.06-carat (6.212 g) deep-blue diamond with internally flawless clarity, originating in the Kollur Mine, India. Laurence Graff purchased the Wittelsbach Diamond in 2008 for £16.4 million. In 2010, Graff revealed he had had the diamond cut by three diamond cutters to remove flaws. The diamond was now more than 4 carats (800 mg) lighter and was renamed the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond. There is controversy, as critics claim the recutting has so altered the diamond as to make it unrecognisable, compromising its historical integrity.
Graff is a British multinational jeweller based in London. It was founded by British jeweller Laurence Graff in 1960. A vertically integrated company, Graff operations comprise the design, manufacture and retail distribution of jewellery and watches.
The Archduke Joseph is a colorless, antique cushion-shaped brilliant, originally weighing 78.54 carat, purchased by Molina Jewelers of Arizona sometime in the late-1990s and slightly re-cut to 76.45 carat to improve clarity and symmetry. It is, on the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) color and clarity scales, a D grade, IF diamond and the largest DIF ever graded at the GIA; and it is of type IIa.
The Princie Diamond is an approximately 34.65 carat cushion-cut fancy intense pink diamond discovered 300 years ago in the Golconda mines. Christie's say that the Princie Diamond is believed to be the fourth largest pink diamond in the world, after the Daria-i-Noor, the Noor-ol-Ain - which are both part of the Iranian Crown Jewels; both were cut, according to experts, from one single c. 242 carat pink diamond, - and the Pink Star, a diamond weighing 59.60 carats.
The Ocean Paradise is a diamond measuring 1.6 carats after polish and was discovered in Brazil and currently owned by the Nahshonov Group. When discovered, it measured 6.43 carats. The Ocean Paradise is the second and one of the only natural diamonds known to the GIA to possess a blue-green hue, making it one of the rarest diamonds in the world.
The Winston Blue is the name given to what was the largest flawless vivid blue diamond bought by Harry Winston, Inc. on May 15, 2014, from an anonymous person for $23.8 million at Christie's Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale. The approximately $1.8003 million per carat price paid for the 13.22-carat diamond is a world record for a blue diamond. Harry Winston, Inc. had also bought a 101.73-carat colorless diamond named Winston Legacy at Christie's Geneva jewelry auction in 2013. The American luxury jeweler had then paid $26.7 million for the colorless diamond, which is a world record for the highest price paid per carat for a colorless diamond.
The Blue Moon of Josephine is a 12.03 carats (2.406 g) blue diamond, described as flawless by experts, that was discovered in South Africa in January 2014 and was sold at a Sotheby's auction in Geneva in November 2015 at a record-setting price of $48.4 million. The diamond is the largest cushion-shaped blue stone classified as "fancy vivid" ever to appear at auction.
The Sweet Josephine is a 16.08 carats (3.216 g) pink diamond that was sold at a Christie's auction in Geneva in November 2015 for $28.5 million, a record price for a jewel of its kind and one that exceeded its estimated price of $23-28 million.
Blue diamond is a type of diamond which exhibits all of the same inherent properties of the mineral except with the additional element of blue color in the stone. They are colored blue by trace amounts of boron that contaminate the crystalline lattice structure. Blue diamonds belong to a subcategory of diamonds called fancy color diamonds, the generic name for diamonds that exhibit intense color.
A red diamond is a diamond which displays red color and exhibits the same mineral properties as colorless diamonds. Red diamonds are commonly known as the most expensive and the rarest diamond color in the world, even more so than pink or blue diamonds, as very few red diamonds have been found. Red diamonds, just like pink diamonds, are greatly debated as to the source of their color, but the gemological community most commonly attributes both colors to gliding atoms in the diamond's structure as it undergoes enormous pressure during its formation. Red diamonds are among the 12 colors of fancy color diamonds, and have the most expensive price per carat. They will typically run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per carat range. Since they are the rarest color, it is difficult to find them in large sizes, and they are mostly found in sizes less than 1 carat. Red diamonds only exist with one color intensity, Fancy, although their clarities can range from Flawless to Included, just like white diamonds. The largest and most flawless red diamond is the 5.11 carat Fancy Red Moussaieff Red Diamond, which has internally flawless clarity.
