Jewelry packs a strong punch, impression-wise, for something that’s rather small, proportionally speaking: even a wide-band ring is unlikely to measure more than 20 mm (at most), or 2 mm in thickness at the average.  However, this small world is a sensitive one: if you want to change a design by even half a millimeter, the design of the ring could be altered immensely.

For example, please take a look the JS258 in two variations: first as a straight white sapphire band and then as a curved white sapphire band.

I used exactly the same pattern in creating these two designs: however, the shape of the band differs very slightly, for a very different effect.

The curved band looks more soft and shapely, doesn’t it? Something about this curvy shape strikes me as being ultrafeminine.

On the other hand, the straight band looks more streamlined to my eyes.  I think this straight band could suit a man or a woman – anybody with a contemporary aesthetic with a touch of vintage flair.

The Natural Sapphire Company is very flexible when it comes to custom jewelry settings: we want you to have what you want.

Please feel free to ask us about your own idea or design.  We will be pleased to work with you to create your very own one-of-a-kind custom-made natural sapphire ring.

It’s that time of year once more … the Oscars have come round!

While the Oscars are putatively a celebration of cinematic achievement, it’s pretty well accepted that right after the honor of being nominated and the victory of receiving an award comes the cachet of making the Best-Dressed List, or the glorious ignominy of making the Worst-Dressed List.

One lady who’s always at the top of the Best-Dressed List?  Victoria Beckham.  Once again wearing her stunningly beautiful oval sapphire ring, the Artist Formerly Known as Posh is resplendent in a beautifully modern take on the classical Grecian garment, designed by no other than … Posh Spice herself!  Well played, madam.

If you crave a ring like Posh’s, you might like J1697 ….

Hollywood up-and-comer Elizabeth Banks is making all the Best-Dressed Lists in her dove-grey Versace.  Banks channels old-Hollywood glamour masterfully, with just a little help from her vintage sapphire-and-diamond earrings, courtesy of Fred Leighton.

A good pair of earrings can really put the perfect finishing touch on even the most beautiful outfit … just consider natural sapphire and diamond earrings J621

Cheryl Hines is timelessly beautiful in an elegantly plunging black dress by Pamella Roland: it’s the perfect foil for her opera-length diamond and sapphire pendant.

Love the look?  Recreate it with something like diamond and sapphire necklace J1481

Congratulations to all the nominees and to all the winners, regardless in which arena they were competing!

The very first time that I looked inside a sapphire through a gem microscope, I couldn’t say anything but “Wow!”

I am still fascinated by the internal structures of natural sapphires to this day. Every time when I see a new natural inclusion, I am still speechless, regardless of how many I have seen.  The thing is, no two inclusions are alike.  Each stone possesses its own unique identity when it comes to the internal structure of the gemstone. Any material that is trapped inside the crystal during its formation is what we called an inclusion.

In our on-site lab, we are always studying these magnificent inclusions since inclusions are among the most important factors for identifying a stone’s authenticity and what treatments it has undergone (if any).  For your pleasure and edification, please find a few examples below ….

Figure 1: Group of crystals along with negative crystals. This inclusion scene confirms that this stone has no indication of heat treatment. Diffused transmitted light 65x. ©NSC

Figure 2: Guest mineral in a pink sapphire attached to a burst halo, surrounded by several discoid crystals. This inclusion scene confirms that this stone has been heat treated. Darkfield illumination. 50x. ©NSC

Figure 3: Woven of long rutile threads, “silk” is one of the main elements of the inclusion scene of Sri Lankan (Ceylon) sapphire. Oblique overhead illumination 50x. ©NSC

The love of diamonds is a wholly understandable thing.  Diamonds are strong, beautiful, and the subjects of the most successful advertising campaign in history, thanks to Frances Gerety’s “Eureka!” moment which resulted in the hugely successful slogan “A Diamond is Forever.”  But they’re not the only choice out there, and as more information becomes available, the more it seems important to consider alternatives, from synthetics to natural sapphires.

As is possible with any precious thing, diamonds have become a source of strife and conflict, leading to the term “conflict diamond,” or, “blood diamond.”  Popularized by the 2006 movie “Blood Diamond,”  the violence and bloodshed permeating the diamond industry were brought into the public eye.  The movie chronicled the environment which led to the creation of the Kimberley Process.  Brought to fruition in 2003, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is intended to create documentation for every diamond on the market which guarantees that the stones have not been used to fund rebel movements, in the hope that an inability to sell the stones will lead to the end of their being mined under brutal conditions.

Unfortunately, the process is not without flaws: Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, recently threatened to break with the Kimberley Process, and diamond industry leader Martin Rappaport recently resigned from the World Diamond Council, saying “Tens of thousands of carats of blood diamonds are now in dealers’ inventories and jewelers’ showcases — and are being actively sold to consumers….Instead of eliminating blood diamonds, the KP has become a process for the systematic legalization and legitimization of blood diamonds.”

It’s hard to think of a more reputable source, given that Rappaport helped to draft the legislation himself.

So what’s a responsible consumer to do?  Though diamonds may have primacy in the marketplace, it’s in the hands of the individual buyers as to whether that remains true.  There’s a saying that the personal is political, that every one of our little choices is an action of consequence; from what we drive to what we eat to, yes, what we wear.  Natural sapphires present an equally precious alternative to a market that’s a source of increasing discomfort for ethical consumers.  The choice of what you’ll wear on your hand to represent your love is in your hands: make an informed decision.

Those of you who are not satisfied watching a simple looping clip animation or still images on a website will now have the chance to have fun with the interactive 3D viewer on our website. This program allows you to examine your customized sapphire rings or pendants from every angle before you even get them in hand. If you can’t wait to get your custom jewelry setting, this can be very satisfying!

Traditionally, computer generated images and photographs are still images that only display at certain angles. It’s not possible to rotate them or to change their colors, as many users wish to do.  But now, our new interactive 3D viewer’s URL is embedded within the site, allowing you to get a closer look at the custom jewelry without losing any of the model’s quality.   For example, just take a look at the mesh frameworks for our CGI renderings of JS442 and JS190 ….

The program displays a visualization of the actual piece itself, allowing you to have a closer look at the details and to change the color of the sapphire or change the color of the model, and to see the piece from every angle by rotating the image as well.

Additionally, a button in the lower right-hand corner will take the viewer to a video of how the custom jewelry setting will look in reality, to get “the big picture.”

With this interactive program that we now offer at The Natural Sapphire Company, you can jump right into the virtual world to get a sense of your custom jewelry setting and have fun imagining and visualizing how your natural sapphire ring or pendant will look when it’s complete, by yourself or with your loved one.

Happy Holi!

The Festival of Colours, as it is known, begins on the day after the full moon in the month of Phalunga (February/March according to the Western calendar), and continues for 5 days of merriment and celebration.   Holi has been called a “festival of radiance,” during which “different waves of radiance traverse the universe, thereby creating various colors that nourish and complement the function of respective elements in the atmosphere.”  During the festival, celebrants obviate caste with symbolic role-playing: men and women engage in role-reversal with playful mock-battles; and everyone enjoys a riot of color with pigmented powders and paints.

For more images from last year’s Holi, check out this article at The Big Picture

Given the chromatic connection and India’s long-standing tradition with the world of natural sapphires, the festival automatically gives rise to thoughts of brilliant examples of color, like the ones to be found in the world of sapphires (well, at least it does for me).    Just look at this glorious rainbow.  Aren’t you interested in celebrating a Festival of Color all your own?

Vivid sapphire B3573 and vibrant ruby U2678 will certainly get you off to a glorious start … or, for the rest of the spectrum, just consider our selection of unique natural sapphires ….

Isn’t it nice to be able to see videos of the sapphires that you are interested in? We have reallocated our resources for adding new features and improvements to our web site and made video a top priority anew.

After the most recent update of our website’s video capacity, development was on hiatus briefly: now, once again, we are working hard at expanding our capacity and adding new and increasingly sophisticated video treatments of our beautiful natural sapphires.

Here are a few blue sapphires that are soon to get the royal treatment ….

Still-life in blue sapphire … B711 and B3414

… and, coming soon to an NSC page near you, B711 and B3414 in living color, and, better yet, motion ….

Even if you’re a regular aficionado of natural sapphires and The Natural Sapphire Company, odds are good that some of our offerings might have escaped your attention, by dint of being on a section of the site you don’t normally peruse, new to inventory, or still in development.  We blog about many aspects of the business as it stands, but I think a highlights section is worth becoming a feature in its own right: and it seems somehow fitting to start a new feature concerning sapphires with a subject concerning where sapphires begin; crystals.

While sapphires are generally found in alluvial deposits, their crystal form is highly valued by collectors, both for reasons of rarity (and its close cousin value), and because there are numerous metaphysical schools of thought which hold that gemstones possess the power to interact with carbon-based lifeforms, like people, in their natural state.  Though it is more common to insist that gemstones be in their natural state insofar as not being heated or treated (like the stock-in-trade of The Natural Sapphire Company), while still permitting the stones to be cut, polished, and fashioned into the most aesthetically pleasing forms possible, we’re here to tell you that crystals can be really aesthetically pleasing in their natural forms … especially if there’s a little bit extra in the way of adornment to make them even more beautiful, as well as more wearable.

Weighing 30.32 carats, natural blue sapphire crystal CR54 has been set onto a base/handle of polished lapiz lazuli and delicately studded with a deep red garnet

CR56 is a 28.46 carat natural blue sapphire crystal, set onto a pierced lapis lazuli handle for greatest ease … and beauty.

It’s nice to know that after this miserable winter, we’re only moments away from spring, and all its beauty.

In the meantime, our natural untreated sapphires can provide customers, not only with the satisfaction of high quality gems, but also with a taste of the brightness that’s to come with hot spring colors!

Each season, tastemakers decree the direction that fashion will take with a rainbow of possibilities, weaving a tapestry of colors from earthy tones, eye-catching brights and soft water colors.  This season, we are to have nine color stories ….

The colors that have been chosen are “Fusion Coral, Tomato Puree, Pink Champagne, Amparo Blue, Dried Herb, Violet Sapphire, Aurora, Turquoise, and Tuscany and Eucalyptus.”

To go with this spring’s themes, we have a range of unique color untreated natural sapphire in stock.

Here is a selection of stones in our design collection; Fusion Coral Sapphire(PA8), Tomato Puree Sapphire(U2826), Pink Champagne Sapphire(U2713), Amparo Blue Sapphire(B2369), Dried Herb Sapphire(U2824).

Violet sapphire (U2509), Aurora Sapphire (U2123), Turquoise Sapphire (U2872), Tuscany Sapphire (U2708).

I promise you that these 9 colors in our untreated natural sapphire will astound you with the best, most luscious, and most mouthwateringly saturated presentation of these colors, which paper, fabric, glass and treated sapphire just cannot do.

Even if you don’t really care about trends, why not take advantage of the opportunity that they present for introducing you to something new to recover from this long, cold winter?

The Natural Sapphire Company specializes in making custom jewelry settings, and in customizing our own preexisting semi mountings to best meet the customer’s vision.  One of our customers recently bought a natural blue sapphire ring from us. This blue sapphire ring was based on JS217 but our customer  asked us to make a few changes .   I put a design of scrolling vines around the blue sapphire center-stone and round diamonds  on the shank to replace the baguette shaped stones which the design originally specified.  This custom design is not only gorgeous but also evocative of a past age, antique-inspired and timeless.  Now our customer has asked us to make a matching band for the blue sapphire ring.   This matching band has 10 diamonds and is also decorated with a pattern of scrolling vines.

Please, check out the images that I made for this customer!

This matching band is inspired by the original blue sapphire ring:

If you want to make your own custom made ring setting, please feel free to ask us!

It’s our pleasure to explore your design with you.

Here at The Natural Sapphire Company we pride ourselves on having the world’s largest and greatest collection of natural untreated sapphires.  This reputation is one we are proud of and in order to keep this reputation up we must be constantly updating our inventory in order to keep up with the demand for these gorgeous untreated sapphires.   In order to do this we must search around for the best suppliers with the best stones so that we are able to offer you only the highest quality untreated sapphires available on the Market.  For example this absolutely stunning natural untreated round blue sapphire weighing in a 1.99ct has an alluring vivid color saturation that is sure to make anyone jealous.  This untreated beauty was exquisitely cut in order to maximize the brilliance and light return, and as you can see from the pictures this stone is just plain vibrant.

B3643: 1.99ct Natural Untreated Round Blue Sapphire

But aside from just having an amazing selection of natural untreated blue sapphires, we also have and outstanding selection of untreated sapphires in yellow, pink, padparadscha and unique colored sapphires.  Our unique sapphire selection consists of such colors as purple, green, orange and even cognac, so whatever your favorite color is you will be able to find a sapphire that meets your color needs.  One of our newest unique stones and possibly my favorite is a fascinating natural untreated oval cut bi-color sapphire that has a gorgeous combination of greens, yellows, blues and blue greens creating a truly one of a kind sapphire that you won’t be able to find anywhere else.  This exceptional sapphire is extremely rare and has dazzling intense color saturation with an enormous amount of brilliance.

U2941: 1.70ct Natural Untreated Bi-Color Sapphire

We will be continuing to add new sapphires to our webpage every day so if you don’t see exactly what you are looking for it may just be there the next day, so continue searching our ever-changing inventory.  If you have a specific and simply cannot wait feel free to contact us directly and we will certainly help you to find the sapphire of your dreams.

When we think of England’s Crown Jewels, we think of orbs and scepters, but first and foremost, we think of the Imperial State Crown, adorned with its 3 great gems.

Kept in the Tower of London, the Imperial State Crown is adorned by the Cullinan II and the Black Prince Ruby (which happens to be a spinel – one can never be too careful in the classification of one’s gems, even if one is actually entitled to the royal plural).

Perhaps less (in)famous but no less beautiful, the Stuart Sapphire first graced crown jewels in 1214, starting with the crown of King Alexander II of Scotland, passing circuitously down the imperial ranks until 1838, when Queen Victoria had it set into the Imperial State Crown, from which it continues to glow.

The UK may have America beat in the chronology and pedigree of their … well, blue sapphires among other things, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t provide some stiff competition in terms of quality and quantity, especially when you’re dealing with The Natural Sapphire Company.  We have the largest holdings of natural sapphires online, and we almost certainly have whatever it is you’re looking for.  And you don’t even have to get past guards in silly hats to see them!

Just a sampling of our fit-for-a-queen stock-in-trade with 69.35 carat blue sapphire B2080, 7.27 carat ruby U2546, and 28.85 carat padparadscha PA14

The stars were out in full force and sparkling like mad at the 2010 BAFTA’s (British Academy of Film and Television Arts – think, England’s Oscars).  While some stars like Kristin Stewart and Anna Kendrick chose to eschew jewelry (bite your tongue!), the majority of the actresses in attendance glittered and gleamed just like the stars that they’re associated with, dripping with gems, including some beautiful blue sapphires.

Speaking of which … while I may have a one-track mind, and while all of the outfits were beautiful, I was a big fan of one in particular: Joely Richardson shone in sapphire-blue silk with delightfully Edwardian jeweled serpent straps, in an outfit that exemplified old-school Hollywood glamour, made all the better by her presence on London’s red carpet.

Congratulations to all the nominees and all of the award winners!   And, as we’re just under two weeks away from the Oscars, scheduled for March 7th, it’s nice to know there’s another dose of glamor awaiting us … I wonder which trends will fade (you can guess the one at the top of my list, I think), and which will grow by then.  As a fan of the traditional red carpet, I’m hoping for dangling glittering earrings, and draping necklaces.  Or perhaps some star who reads our blog might be in the mood for a custom sapphire suite?

Romance is for every day, not just Valentine’s Day.  Every year, we hear protests against Valentine’s Day.  “It’s an artificial holiday!” the haters cry.  “You should show your partner how much you love them every day!” they say.  It’s an admirable sentiment, but how often do most of us find the time for specific romance on a regular basis?  The annual celebration most definitely has its place.

But on the off-chance that Valentine’s Day has come and gone but you’re still wanting to capture its spirit on one of those other days, just like they tell you you ought to … we definitely have what you’re looking for.

JS595 is just one of our beautiful heart shaped semi mountings

For example, let’s say this Valentine’s Day made you realize that, yes!, she’s the one, and you want to propose in the spirit of the realization.  Should you wait a year?  No!  But you do want her to remember it for years ….  I’d suggest you find a romantic place and propose her with a heart shaped blue sapphire three stone ring.

Just consider JS49, with its round diamond or sapphire side-stones!

A heart shaped sapphire engagement ring might be hard to find, but it is considered to be a very symbolic gift: the shape advertises your love, and the sapphire is well known as a stone promoting fidelity, loyalty, and love in the language of gemstones. A heart shaped sapphire engagement ring will definitely signify a meaningful and cherished love affair.

Or, for the full romantic package, perhaps a 3 of Hearts like ring setting JS495, set with a pink sapphire?

Simple heart shaped sapphires make good-looking promises, whether they come in the form of engagement rings or other things – perfect for a proposal or anniversary gift.

A heart of gold deserves a heart of gold … and sapphire, like yellow sapphire Y2521

Women are complex creatures … or so we’ve been told.

Whenever we think of getting ourselves a piece of jewelry, especially beautiful and colorful natural sapphires, we consider many details, such as: will this sapphire color compliment my skin tone? Does it this particular sapphire color and shape goes well with the jewelry design I have in mind? Most important of all, can this jewelry easily be  incorporated into my daily wardrobe? Considering all the aspects, it is a tough decision to make!  Luckily, natural sapphires offer options for every occasion and every variation on personal taste.

With so many choices and aspects to take into consideration, it is very important for a woman to pick the right piece of jewelry to balance all those concerns. So, my personal pick? A beautiful violet sapphire set in white gold ring with a bead-set halo. Cushion-cut sapphire U2732 has a brilliant cut and a hint of cool winter in its hue. Setting this sapphire in one of our custom jewelry settings, with the subtle gleam of tube-set round diamonds at the four corners will make for a stunning ring.  And, even if the complex creature in your life might prefer a different cut or color, what’s a better way to express your love than by putting a gallery of hearts in as a little secret for the two of you to enjoy together?