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Burma Sapphires

A Burma sapphire is a blue sapphire from Myanmar, known for a deep, velvety, saturated blue that holds its colour under incandescent light and for the fine silk that softens it. Burma's name was built on ruby, and sapphire has always been the smaller share of its output, so fine unheated Burmese sapphires are scarce in the trade. Byrex Gems offers Burma sapphires to the trade from Toronto, filmed unedited in our office, with prices for approved buyers and viewings by appointment.

Where to buy Burma sapphires in Toronto

Byrex Gems lists 26 Burma sapphires online today. 19 of them come with a report from laboratories including GRS, GIA and SSEF. 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 burma sapphires listed today: 11.52 ct Cushion Blue Sapphire, GRS + AGL + GIA, Burma Unheated, 6.57 ct Oval Blue Sapphire, GRS, Burma Unheated, 4.43 ct Cushion Blue Sapphire Pair, GRS, Burma Unheated, 4.32 ct Cushion Blue Sapphire, GRS, Burma Unheated, 3.52 ct Cushion Blue Sapphire Pair, GRS, Burma Unheated, 3.44 ct Oval Blue Sapphire Close Match (1.90 + 1.54 ct), Burma Unheated, 3.30 ct Cushion Intense Purplish Pink Sapphire, GIA, Burma Heated, 2.31 ct Cushion Blue Sapphire, GRS, Burma Unheated, 2.02 ct Emerald Cut Blue Sapphire, GRS, Burma Unheated, 34.59 ct Oval Cabochon Blue Sapphire, Burma Unheated, 22.74 ct Oval Blue Sapphire, GRS, Burma Unheated, 11.50 ct Oval Cabochon Blue Sapphire, Burma Unheated and 14 more.

Where Burma sapphires come from

Burmese sapphires come from more than one area of Myanmar. Unlike Burmese rubies, which grew in marble, the sapphires are associated with syenite and pegmatite bodies and are recovered mainly from the gravels that have eroded from them. The deposits have been worked for centuries alongside the ruby ground, and sapphire has always been the lesser part of what comes out.

The character is distinctive: a deep, saturated blue, pure or very slightly violetish, with a velvety texture from fine rutile silk and a colour that stays blue rather than turning purple or black under a warm lamp. It is the colour the term royal blue was coined to describe. Some crystals carry colour zoning, and the silk can be dense enough to need the cutter's attention.

A laboratory report states the origin as Burma or Myanmar; it does not normally name the mine or district.

How laboratories identify Burma sapphires

Origin is an opinion from inclusions, trace-element chemistry and spectra compared with reference stones. For Burmese sapphires the laboratories look at the silk pattern, the zoning and the mineral inclusions, together with chemistry that distinguishes Burma from the basalt-related sources and, with more care, from Sri Lanka and Madagascar. GIA, GRS, SSEF, Gübelin, Lotus and AGL all state Burma or Myanmar.

The difficult separations are from Madagascar's Bemainty stones and from the stronger Ceylon stones, which can share Burma's saturation. When the evidence does not decide, a careful laboratory states the origin as inconclusive, and for important stones a second report is normal.

Many Burma sapphires are unheated and read "no indications of heating" at GIA, Gübelin and SSEF or "no indication of thermal treatment" at GRS; heated examples are reported as heated. Royal blue is granted on the laboratories' own criteria: GRS against its master stones, Gübelin and SSEF only to untreated stones. A Burma origin does not confer the term, and a Burma sapphire that is too dark or zoned will not receive it.

What to check before buying a Burma sapphire

Tone first. The virtue of a Burma sapphire is depth with life, and the fault to avoid is a stone cut so deep, or so saturated, that it reads navy in the evening. Judge it under an incandescent lamp as well as daylight, viewed from the top, and expect it to stay blue.

Then silk and zoning. Fine silk gives the velvet and is welcome; dense silk makes a stone sleepy, and zoning that shows from the top should be priced accordingly. Many Burma sapphires are native cut and carry weight in the pavilion; a recut can improve them at a cost in carats.

Sizes are the constraint. Fine Burmese sapphires above three carats are scarce, pairs are rare enough that a close match is usually the honest description, and the supply does not refresh, so a good stone should be taken when seen. Match the report to the stone by weight, measurements and photograph. At the bench, sapphire takes normal handling; note any fissures the report records. Estate stones described as Burma on the strength of their setting's age should be tested before the claim is repeated.

What drives the value of a Burma sapphire

Origin places Burma second only to Kashmir in the sapphire hierarchy for unheated stones, and that premium is the starting point. Treatment then divides the market, with no indications of heating well above heated. Colour does the rest: a saturated, slightly violetish blue of medium-dark tone that stays blue under every light, with velvet from fine silk and no zoning from the top.

A royal blue designation from GRS or one of the Swiss laboratories adds to the figure, and two reports agreeing on Burma add confidence. Clarity is expected to be eye-clean, with silk forgiven; size compounds everything because the deposit's sapphires are small.

The rarity relative to ruby is worth stating plainly. Burma produces far more ruby than sapphire, and while its rubies command the higher prices, a fine unheated Burmese sapphire of good size is the harder stone to find.

History, famous stones and compliance

Burmese sapphires reached the West with Burmese rubies, through the Burmese court and, after the British annexation of 1886, through Burma Ruby Mines Limited, which worked the ruby mines until the early 1930s and sold sapphire as a secondary product. Mining since has passed through state and joint-venture hands and small licensed workings, and output is a fraction of its historic peak.

The Rockefeller Sapphire is the best-known Burmese example: a 62.02 carat Burmese cushion once owned by John D. Rockefeller Jr., sold at Christie's New York in 2001. Burmese sapphires in historic Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels jewels reappear at auction with Gübelin or SSEF reports and reinforce the origin's standing.

A compliance note. Gemstones of Burmese origin have at various times been subject to import restrictions in some jurisdictions, and the rules change. Buyers should check the import rules that apply in their own country before purchasing Burmese goods, and Byrex supplies the laboratory report and invoice wording needed for that review.

Buying Burma sapphires from Byrex Gems

Since 1988, Byrex Gems has supplied Burma 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 Burma 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 Burmese 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.

Burma Sapphires: questions buyers ask

Does a report for a Burma sapphire name the mine?

No. Laboratory reports state the origin as Burma or Myanmar, not the mine or district, and Burmese sapphires come from more than one area. Byrex states the origin exactly as the laboratory words it.

Are Burma sapphires usually unheated?

Many are, and their reports read no indications of heating. Heated Burmese sapphires exist and are reported as heated. Because the premium for Burma origin rests partly on unheated stones, read the treatment line as closely as the origin line. Byrex states both as the laboratory words them.

How does a Burma sapphire differ from a Ceylon sapphire?

Burmese blues are deeper and more saturated with a velvety texture, and they hold their colour under incandescent light. Ceylon blues are lighter and brighter with a more transparent crystal. Laboratories separate the two by inclusions and chemistry, with care, and can state origin as inconclusive.

Which reports does Byrex supply with Burma sapphires?

GRS, SSEF, Gübelin, Lotus, GIA or AGL reports stating treatment and origin. For important Burma sapphires two reports are common, and the GRS report is shown on the stone page. Byrex can arrange a further report on request.

Can I legally import a Burma sapphire?

That depends on where you are. Some jurisdictions have restricted Burmese gemstones at various times and the rules change. Check your own country's current import rules before buying, and Byrex will provide the report and invoice wording that review needs.

Does Byrex show Burma sapphires to private clients?

Yes, by appointment at 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, Toronto. Private clients view the same stones and reports as the trade, with prices released to approved trade buyers who sign in. Byrex can also search for a Burma sapphire to a brief.

Can I see Burma sapphires in Toronto?

Yes. Book an appointment and the stones are laid out under daylight and incandescent light beside Ceylon and Madagascar sapphires, which makes the Burmese depth plain. Each stone is also filmed unedited in our office so you can study it before the visit.

Are Burma sapphires rarer than Burma rubies?

Fine ones are. Burma produces far more ruby than sapphire, so a fine unheated Burmese sapphire of good size is harder to find than a ruby of similar quality, even though the ruby commands the higher price. Both are scarce next to Mozambique and Ceylon goods.

Further reading

Byrex Gems, 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, Toronto. Coloured gemstones and natural fancy colour diamonds for the trade since 1988, and for private clients by appointment.

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