Sapphire the September Birthstone
Birthstone of the month SAPPHIRE
This month the blog is all about the divine birthstone for September the Blue Sapphire, this coincides with a visit to Madagascar by my brother Charles Lawson of Lawson Gems, he regularly visits Madagascar on Aid Projects teaching rural women sapphire miners gem identification, this is a wonderful way to empower some of the poorest women in the world to know exactly what it is that they dig for and find. So often they can be duped into thinking that a stone is of low value when actually it may not be. He also teaches basic gemmology and the correct use of gem identification equipment, for example every student is given a small kit containing such things as a small torch to shine through the rough stone, gem grabbers, tweezers, a jeweller’s loupe (magnifier) and more. One of the things they really appreciate is tiny plastic zip-lock bags to keep their stones in, something so common here but hard for these women to source in such places as Sakaraha, Madagascar.
Charles has made some great documentaries on his Gem Adventures which are all up on his you tube channel -Lawson Gems. He also has a range of Sapphires in his online store.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcgRqA8QE9Y&list=PLUHMYo6LV6ptDQhjt0WIHeKoes9w9GEUzhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?
Sapphire can be found in Burma, Australia, Kenya, Tanzania, Kasmir, Cambodia, Thailand, Madagascar and Sri Lanka(once a part of India), where it was mined for as early as the seventh century BC. There are a variety of colours they can be found in other than blue, but include pink, yellow and white as well. These are referred to as “fancy sapphires”. The blue colour is given by very small amounts of oxide, iron and titanium within the stone. India boasts having found the most famous and largest of sapphires, weighing in at 563-carats. Its home resides in the American Museum of Natural History. As it is in the same family of the ruby, like the ruby, it is also second to the diamond in hardness, making it an ideal gemstone for jewellery.
BIRTHSTONE FACTS & FOLKLORE
In the 17th century, holding or wearing the sapphire was believed to help you to foretell the future.
In the 15th century, it was thought that holding a sapphire near a spider would kill it.
Sapphires are thought to ease pain and reduce stress.
If you dream that you are wearing a sapphire, be warned: You should be less impulsive. In a spiritual context, the sapphire is said to hold wisdom, power, and faith. One could wear sapphire as a protection from envy and help to bring blessings from heaven.
Sapphire he birthstone for September is a stone of wisdom and of royalty, blue sapphire is also known to have divine connections and the power of prophecy. Linked to sacred things since ancient times Sapphire has been in the lore of nearly every religion in the world. Blue Sapphire is a stone of mental clarity, stimulating the throat chakra and the third eye, which allows you to access deeper levels of truth and understanding in the spiritual world.
Priests from the middle ages often wore this stone to help protect them from temptations of the flesh, and impure thoughts.
The sapphire was also popular with royalty as they wanted protection from envy and harm. It still is popular with Royalty Princess Dianna wore a lovely blue sapphire engagement ring.
Sapphire is one of the most popular coloured gemstones, and they come in a variety of colours too just not the signature blue. There are purple sapphires, yellow sapphires, pink sapphire, even green coloured sapphires but that royal blue colour is the favourite to most.
We have designed some gorgeous new sapphire blue dresses in for September Spring
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