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Interesting Facts About the September Birthstone the Sapphire

The birthstone for September is the hardest stone on earth after the diamond. The most commonly sold and exhibited sapphires are blue in color, but this birthstone can also be found in a darker, more purplish shade of blue as well as gold, pink, orange and even white. The qualities associated with the sapphire as a birthstone include fidelity, sincerity and truthfulness.

Ten Commandments Tablets
- According to many traditional interpretations, the Ten Commandments brought down from the mountain by Moses were engraved on tablets made of blue sapphire. The Jewish Torah states that after Moses smashed the tablets on which the commandments had been written by the touch of God, a new set needed to be created. The supposed "divine" status of sapphire was one reason kings and other potentates sought the gems throughout history.
Qualities of Faithfulness
- The quality of faithfulness attributed to sapphires has long made them appropriate choices as a gift with the metaphorical aspect of purity. Sapphires are one of the most prominent types of gems found among the British crown jewels because of the belief that they extend a certain pure wisdom upon the owner. Princess Diana's engagement ring was a sapphire.
Mining Locations
- Sapphires can be found around the world. Countries as geographically distant as India and Australia have produced high-quality sapphires. Other countries that mine this gemstone include Vietnam and Brazil. The oldest mines producing sapphires are located in Sri Lanka.
Cutting Sapphires
- The cut of a sapphire is very dependent on individualized choice rather than a standard set of typical cuts as with diamonds. Guidelines for cutting sapphires avoid proportional requirements in order to allow for cutting that best displays the brilliance of the particular color of the sapphire in question. One of the few overriding rules related to cutting sapphires is that the edges of the stone should be symmetrical.
Anniversary Traditions
- In addition to being the birthstone for September, a sapphire is considered a traditional gift for specific anniversary celebrations. This gemstone is an appropriate gift for the fifth, 23rd and 45th wedding anniversary. A marriage that manages to reach its 65 anniversary is traditionally celebrated with the gift of a star sapphire. The star sapphire is characterized by very small needles of a substance called rutile that intersect with each other to create a star effect. One of the most famous gems in the world is the Star of Asia sapphire on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

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