Sapphire Price

Sapphire (Greek: σάπφειρος; sappheiros, 'blue stone', which probably referred instead at the time to lapis lazuli) is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide (α-Al₂O₃). Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, copper, or magnesium can give corundum blue, yellow, purple, orange, or a greenish color. Chromium impurities in corundum yield a pink or red tint, the latter being called a ruby.

Commonly, sapphires are worn in jewelry. Sapphires may be found naturally, by searching through certain sediments (due to their resistance to being eroded compared to softer stones) or rock formations. They also may be manufactured for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphires—9 on the Mohs scale (the third hardest mineral, right behind diamond at 10 and moissanite at 9.25 on the Mohs scale)—and of aluminium oxide in general, sapphires are used in some non-ornamental applications, including infrared optical components, such as in scientific instruments; high-durability windows; wristwatch crystals and movement bearings; and very thin electronic wafers, which are used as the insulating substrates of very special-purpose solid-state electronics (especially integrated circuits and GaN-based LEDs).

Sapphire Price:

A question we frequently hear from customers is, "How much is a good sapphire?" It's not an easy question to answer because there are many different grades and colors of sapphire. Prices depend on carat weight as well. Still, it's a question worth answering, so here is our best attempt to answer it, based on our experience in the market.
Let's start at the lower end of the market and work upwards. The most inexpensive sapphires are carvings, since that's what the industry does with lower grade material that isn't suitable for gemstones. Carvings tend to be priced by the piece rather than the carat, since the work that goes into making them usually exceeds the cost of the material. You'll find small carvings starting at $10-20 per piece.

Next up in price are sapphire cabochons. Material of good color which is not sufficiently transparent to cut in facets is used to create the domed shape known as cabochon (or cab for short). You'll find these most often in blue and green, and they are often available in larger sizes as well, often up to 10 or 20 carats. The price per carat on the cabochons tends to be constant regardless of size, and we often have them at around $10 a carat. They can make some very attractive jewelry that has all the virtues of sapphire at a very affordable price.

You'll also find star sapphires in the cabochon-grade material. Here in Thailand we see several kinds of star sapphires. Our home province of Chanthaburi produces the untreated black and gold star sapphires found nowhere else in the world. We also have blue star sapphires that are diffusion treated with titanium to improve the star effect. Most of the star sapphires sell for around $10 a carat. Rare transparent star sapphires do exist but you'll find them mainly in museums.

Moving to faceted sapphire, the lower priced pieces will either be small sizes (under half a carat), heavily included material, or beryllium-treated. Prices for faceted sapphire start at about $20 a carat and rise according to size and color. In sizes greater than 1 carat you'll find clean beryllium-treated green sapphire at around $75 a carat, and yellow and red-orange pieces at around $100 to $120 a carat. We've noticed that the prices for beryllium-treated sapphire have been rising significantly in the last year.

Prices for heated blue sapphire depend very much on color and clarity. You can expect to pay around $300 a carat for clean pieces in the 1-2 carat size with good color saturation. Prices typically go up substantially for quality sapphire over 2 carats. We've had some excellent 2-2.5 carat blue sapphires at around $400 a carat and recently acquired a 5.09 carat Madagascar sapphire with IF clarity that is priced at around $600 a carat.

It is more difficult to state typical market prices for very fine unheated sapphire, since they are so rare. But we recently acquired two outstanding pieces from the Diego-Suarez mine in northern Madagascar. One piece is a stunning violet blue, 2.62 carats in weight and VVS clarity. It is a beautifully cut round, a shape that typically commands a premium in the market. We priced it at $965, which is probably unusually low for the market. A second unheated piece is a 6.33 carat rich blue with a hint of green, with a clarity grade of IF. It's priced at $5575. Generally you won't find fine unheated sapphire of any size at prices under $1000 a carat.

(source: Gemselect)

Almandine Garnet Stone

Almandine garnet, sometimes referred to as almandite garnet, belongs to the very vast and popular mineral group of garnet. Almandine is the most common of all garnet varieties. Although there are very large amounts of almandine sourced from all over the world, only a small percentage of the stones mined are of gem quality. Most almandine stones are opaque and rough, which means that they are only used for industrial purposes. Garnet stones are often used for sandblasting in the industrial sector.

The word 'garnet' is derived from the Latin word "granatus", which means grain, because many garnet deposits are small grains of red crystals in or on their host rock. The specific name of almandine originates from the name alabandicus which is the name of a stone found in the small town of Alabanda, located in Caria, the second smallest province of Asia Minor. Almandine occurs in a range of reds from dark brownish to purplish red and is a very popular gem choice for jewelers due to the excellent hardness (7.5 on the Mohs scale) and brilliance resulting from its high refractive index. Almandine garnet is often cut en cabochon with convex faces, and these specimens are sometimes referred to as carbuncles. Carbuncle is an old term used to describe any type of red gemstone cabochon. Red gemstone cabochons have historically been used as friendship gems. Garnet is also January's birthstone.

Almandine garnet can be difficult to distinguish between other garnet types by appearance alone, as well as other red stones. Almandine garnet will typically have darker tones compared to other red gems, but top quality specimens do have red colors similar to that of ruby. A strong neodymium magnet will be able help distinguish garnet from other gemstones. Measuring a stone's magnetic susceptibility in collaboration with its refractive index can be used to distinguish specific garnet species and varieties, and it can also determine the percentage of composition in hybrid variety garnets.

Buying Almandine Garnet

Almandine garnet gemstones can be found in many origins and sources including Brazil, India, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and the United States. Smaller deposits exist in Austria and the Czech Republic. Almandine garnet star gemstones are found in India and the United States. Idaho is known to be a very large source for star garnet gems. Amandine found in Sri Lanka is sometimes referred to as Ceylon ruby.

Almandine Garnet Color

Almandine garnet colors can range from pure red, reddish orange and slightly purplish red to dark brownish red. The unique deep red color of almandine is a direct result from the presence of iron.
Almandine garnet with pure, deep red colors are the most desirable and valuable of almandine stones.

Almandine Garnet Clarity and Luster

Almandine garnet has a vitreous luster. Gem quality almandine garnet is translucent, but depending on the cut, some stones may appear to be more translucent to opaque. Most almandine garnet rough is opaque and not considered to be of gem quality. These specimens are typically used for various industrial purposes.

Almandine Garnet Cut and Shape

There are abundant amounts of very large sized almandine garnet crystals, but because of their dark tones, only small to medium sized gems are faceted. When faceted, they are often cut slightly shallow to allow light to pass through them. Some garnet stones when cut en cabochon can display an asterism effect; these are referred to as star garnets. Almandine garnets can be found in a wide variety of shapes and cut styles including round, oval, pear, heart and trillion facet or cabochon stones.
(source:  Gemselect.com)