GEMSTONES

When most people think of sapphire they think of a dark blue stone. But sapphire can come in a variety of colors including pink, purple, yellow, green and even orange. When you find sapphire in deep red color values it is typically referred to as ruby.

Most of the sapphires used in my work are from a mine in Africa (the Winza Mine) known for producing a wide spectrum of pink sapphires. They range from light pink to what I like to call pink grapefruit (because the color is darker pink but still not red) and even some that is purple. Occasionally I have found red or red/orange sapphires in this material. Some pieces are called bi-colored and will either be red or pink with blue inclusions.

The secret of the jewelry industry is that nearly all sapphires are heated to improve their color and most are glass-filled to hide surface imperfections that cannot be polished out.  Unless you are shopping at a high-end jeweler and pay $1,000-$5,000 per carrot, most likely this is what you are getting.  Unless I have noted otherwise, all of my pieces with sapphire and ruby are completely natural which I have cut myself.