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Blue Sapphires

A blue sapphire is corundum coloured blue by traces of iron and titanium, which together absorb the red and yellow ends of the spectrum and leave the blue. Colour saturation, tone, origin and whether the stone has been heated decide most of its worth, and fine unheated blue sapphires of a few carats with a velvety, saturated colour are scarce. Byrex Gems offers blue sapphires to the trade from Toronto, filmed unedited in our office, with prices for approved buyers and viewings by appointment.

Where to buy blue sapphires in Toronto

Byrex Gems lists 299 blue sapphires online today. 151 of them come with a report from laboratories including GRS, GIA, CDC and Lotus. Origins include Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Burma (Myanmar), Madagascar and Thailand. Viewings are at our Toronto office, 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, steps from Queen subway station, by appointment. We have supplied coloured gemstones and natural fancy colour diamonds to jewellers and designers since 1988, and welcome private clients by appointment. Prices are shown to approved trade accounts; private clients can ask us on WhatsApp, where we reply within 12 hours, or by email within 24 hours. Every stone ships insured, worldwide.

Among the blue sapphires listed today: 3.56 ct Emerald Cut Blue Sapphire, GRS, Madagascar Heated, 3.11 ct Oval Blue Sapphire, GRS, Ceylon Heated, 128.52 ct Square Princess Cut Sapphire Layout (302 pcs), Madagascar Heated, 79.19 ct Oval & Marquise Sapphire Layout (70 pcs), Unheated, 40.06 ct Round Blue Sapphire Layout (27 pcs), Ceylon Heated, 39.67 ct Round Blue Sapphire Layout (29 pcs), Ceylon Heated, 39.08 ct Round Blue Sapphire Layout (29 pcs), Ceylon Heated, 36.71 ct Round Blue Sapphire Layout (24 pcs), Ceylon Heated, 21.80 ct Square Cushion Blue Sapphire, GIA, Ceylon Unheated, 18.96 ct Cushion Blue Sapphire, GIA, Unheated, 16.05 ct Oval Blue Sapphire, GIA, Unheated, 15.60 ct Oval Blue Sapphire, Thailand Heated and 287 more.

Why sapphires are blue and where they are mined

Pure corundum is colourless. Blue appears when iron and titanium sit side by side in the crystal and exchange an electron under light, a charge transfer that absorbs red and yellow. A little of each gives a bright, open blue; too much iron pulls the colour towards green and grey and darkens it, which is why sapphires from basalt-related deposits tend to be darker than those from metamorphic rock.

Kashmir, a single deposit in the Padar region worked mainly between 1881 and the 1920s, produced the velvety, slightly violetish blue that remains the benchmark. Burma's Mogok tract gives deep, saturated blues that hold their colour under incandescent light. Sri Lanka, the old Ceylon, has supplied lighter, brighter blues and every fancy colour from its alluvial gravels since antiquity and remains the most varied source.

Madagascar, since the Ilakaka discovery of 1998 and the Bemainty finds of 2016, is now one of the largest producers across the whole range. Thailand's Kanchanaburi and Chanthaburi deposits, Cambodia's Pailin and Australia produce darker basaltic blues. Montana's Yogo Gulch, worked since 1895, yields small unheated stones of cornflower colour, and its river deposits yield pale to greenish blues that are usually heated. Nigeria, Ethiopia and Vietnam add to supply.

How laboratories describe blue sapphires

A report from GIA, GRS, SSEF, Gübelin, Lotus or AGL identifies natural corundum, variety sapphire, records weight and measurements, describes the colour, states treatment and gives an origin opinion. Colour terms are laboratory-specific. GRS applies "vivid blue (GRS-type royal blue)" against its master stones; Gübelin and SSEF apply "royal blue" only to untreated sapphires that match theirs. Cornflower blue is a trade description for a medium, velvety, slightly violetish blue and is not defined by master stones at those laboratories.

Heating is the standard treatment and is accepted when disclosed. Unheated stones read "no indications of heating" at GIA, Gübelin and SSEF, and "no indication of thermal treatment" at GRS; heated stones read heated or "indications of heating". Beryllium diffusion, which alters colour through the whole stone, must be disclosed and lowers value; titanium diffusion adds a thin blue skin that repolishing removes. Laboratories detect both by inclusions, spectra and trace-element chemistry.

Origin is an opinion drawn from inclusions and chemistry. Sri Lanka and Madagascar overlap, Kashmir is the most scrutinised call of all, and a report sometimes states origin as inconclusive, which is a more useful answer than a confident wrong one.

What to check before buying a blue sapphire

Look at the stone under daylight-equivalent light and then under incandescent light, because many blues turn inky or purplish under a warm lamp while the best hold their colour. View it from the top for colour zoning; straight or angular bands of lighter and darker blue are common in Sri Lankan and Madagascar stones and a cutter can hide or expose them.

Check the cut for a window through the pavilion and for extinction, the dark areas that deepen a stone's apparent tone. Fine silk, the rutile needles that give Kashmir and some Ceylon stones their velvet, is a virtue in moderation and a fault when it makes the stone sleepy. Ovals and cushions dominate because they keep weight; a stone with a deep pavilion may carry weight you are paying for and not seeing.

Calibrated blue sapphires to two carats are plentiful; fine stones of three to five carats are scarce, and above that the supply is thin. Pairs and three-stone suites need matching hue, tone, saturation and treatment status, and a close match should be described as one. At the bench, sapphire is hard and durable, but a diffused stone must not be repolished, and the report's note on fissures matters for setting.

What drives the value of a blue sapphire

Colour leads: a vivid, saturated blue of medium to medium-dark tone, pure or very slightly violetish, with no grey or green. Lighter stones are pleasant and commercial; darker stones lose brightness. The velvety texture of fine silk lifts a stone of the right colour into a different class.

Treatment follows. A sapphire with no indications of heating commands a premium over a heated stone of the same look, and the premium grows with size and quality. Diffused stones sit far below. Origin then ranks the unheated stones: Kashmir at the top, Burma next, then the finest Ceylon and Madagascar stones, with exceptions in every direction because the stone in hand outranks the map.

Clarity is judged more leniently than in diamond; eye-clean is the expectation for fine stones, and fine silk is forgiven. Size compounds everything, and a report from a respected laboratory, or two for important stones, makes the whole assessment bankable. Cut quality and the absence of zoning viewed from the top finish the list.

Famous blue sapphires and today's supply

The great blue sapphires are mostly Ceylon stones. The Logan Sapphire at the Smithsonian is a Sri Lankan cushion of nearly 423 carats; the Star of India at the American Museum of Natural History is a 563.35 carat Sri Lankan star sapphire; the Blue Belle of Asia, a 392.52 carat Ceylon sapphire, set the auction record for a sapphire at Christie's Geneva in 2014. Kashmir sapphires hold the per-carat records, and the Rockefeller Sapphire, a 62.02 carat Burmese stone, is the best-known Mogok example.

Supply has changed shape. Kashmir has been closed for a century, Burma produces little sapphire, Sri Lanka is steady, Madagascar is large and growing, and Montana is a small, documented source that appeals to buyers who want a named mine.

Look-alikes are easily separated with a report: tanzanite, iolite, blue spinel, kyanite and glass. Synthetic sapphire has been produced since the early 1900s by flame fusion and later by flux and pulled growth, and the better synthetics need a laboratory to separate them from natural stones.

Buying blue sapphires from Byrex Gems

Since 1988, Byrex Gems has supplied blue sapphires to the jewellery trade from Toronto. The confidence of more than seven thousand trade customers has been earned one stone at a time. Many of our blue sapphires come with reports from GRS, SSEF, Gübelin, GIA and other leading laboratories, and each stone is filmed in our office, exactly as it is.

Approved trade buyers see prices online. Everyone else is welcome to write: WhatsApp +1 (437) 450-3786 brings a reply within hours, and an email to info@byrex.com an answer the same day, seven days a week. What is listed is a part of what we hold: more blue sapphires are kept in the vault, and what we do not hold ourselves we can source through our offices worldwide. We receive clients by appointment in Toronto, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Dubai.

Blue Sapphires: questions buyers ask

What gives a sapphire its blue colour?

Traces of iron and titanium inside the corundum crystal. Together they absorb red and yellow light and leave blue. A little of each gives a bright blue; more iron pushes the colour towards green and grey, which is why basalt-related sapphires tend to be darker than metamorphic ones.

Are most blue sapphires heated?

Yes. Most blue sapphires on the market have been heated to improve colour or clarity, and heating is accepted when disclosed. Unheated stones carry reports reading no indications of heating and command a premium. Byrex shows the treatment line as the laboratory words it on every stone page.

What is the difference between royal blue and cornflower blue?

Royal blue is a deep, vivid, saturated blue that GRS, Gübelin and SSEF define against master stones. Cornflower blue is a medium-toned, velvety, slightly violetish blue associated with Kashmir and fine Ceylon stones; it is a trade description rather than a graded term. Neither outranks the other.

Which reports does Byrex supply with blue sapphires?

Most Byrex sapphires carry GRS, SSEF, Gübelin, Lotus or GIA reports, with AGL and CDC on some stones. Reports state treatment and origin, and GRS reports are shown on the stone page. A second report can be arranged on request for important stones.

What is beryllium diffusion in sapphire?

A treatment in which beryllium is diffused into the stone at high temperature to change its colour throughout. It must be disclosed, it lowers value substantially, and laboratories detect it by trace-element chemistry. Titanium diffusion, by contrast, colours only a thin surface layer.

Does Byrex sell blue sapphires to private clients?

Yes, by appointment at 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, Toronto. Private clients see the same stones and reports as the trade, with prices released to approved trade buyers who sign in. Byrex also sources specific sizes, pairs and origins to a brief.

Can I view blue sapphires in Toronto?

Yes. Book an appointment and the stones are laid out for comparison under daylight and incandescent light, which is the only way to see how a blue behaves in the evening. Every sapphire is also filmed unedited in our office so you can study it first.

Which origin is best for a blue sapphire?

Kashmir sits at the top for unheated stones, then Burma, then the finest Ceylon and Madagascar sapphires, but the hierarchy is a guide, not a rule. A superb Ceylon sapphire outranks an ordinary Burmese one, and origin is an opinion that reports can state as inconclusive.

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