Star sapphire is a type of corundum, an aluminum oxide that has an asterism effect. This phenomenon appears due to the presence of tiny minerals in the stone that can reflect light and create a rare star-shaped pattern. Most often it is six-pointed, but there are stones with stars with twelve rays. They come in blue, pink, smoky brown and clear. The latter are the rarest and most expensive.
In general, a classic sapphire in our view is an exclusively blue brilliant stone. Actually, its name comes from the Greek word "sappheiros" - "blue stone". But its color is not always the same. In fact, the range of shades is quite diverse, and you can find not only purple-blue or colorless, but also green, orange, pink, yellow sapphire.
Sapphires have long been used to decorate crowns. Rings with this stone were once worn by the courageous Alexander the Great and the feminine Mary Stuart. According to legend, the famous ring of King Solomon was also carved from it. The Egyptian high priest wore a large sapphire on his chest, which was calledso: "True".
It is believed that this is a stone of peace of mind, inner harmony, trust, balance and virtue, it protects against excesses, gives determination and courage, promotes the appearance of friends and repels enemies. Girls promise happiness in marriage.
Star sapphire has special properties. Three intersecting lines on its surface are considered the embodiment of three main feelings: hope, faith and love. Such stones are quite rare, and therefore highly valued. Recently, however, it has become possible to find items with such sapphires at quite affordable prices. The fact is that technologies for obtaining the effect of asterism in minerals have appeared. Artificial stones, of course, will be much cheaper than natural ones. But it is also easy to distinguish them: the rays of the star are static, regardless of the angle of the incident light, unlike natural stones.
The famous star sapphire "Star of India" has a long history, which is known, however, to us not completely. It was mined in Sri Lanka in the 18th century. Its peculiarity and uniqueness is that the 6-ray star is visible from both sides of the cabochon-cut stone.
Most recently, in 1996, an amazingly beautiful star sapphire of 63,000 carats was found in Myanmar.
An amazing story happened in Australia. One of the residents propped up the door with a cobblestone for a long time. When he learned that sapphires are black, he took his stone for examination. It turned out that the support is a rare sapphire of 1156 carats. In 1947In 1997, the jeweler Garry Kazanian bought it for $18,000. He was able to identify signs of asterism in the stone (the manifestation of a star on the surface). In 1948, the "Black Star of Queensland" attracted the attention of journalists. Sapphire, whose price has already reached 300 thousand dollars, has become the focus of special attention. For him, they made a frame of white gold and surrounded by 35 small diamonds. In 2002, the world's largest star sapphire changed hands again. There are rumors about its possible sale for 88 million dollars. Where he is now is unknown.
