Potential Threats For A Sapphire

Sapphires are one of the nature’s most beautiful gifts to mankind. It is believed that these mesmerizing blue colored gemstones are not only used as mere accessories for jewelry making but also possess a great astrological significance. The first Sapphire gemstone was discovered in the year 1929 when a group of cleaning workers found this bright gemstone while wiping the region of Mogok in Burma with a clearing brush. They saw a glittering stone covered with dust. On cleaning the dust from the stone they discovered the first 958 carats blue sapphire. Due to its rarity and enormously large size it was cut into nine small pieces out of which the biggest one weighed around 66 carats. 
 

Buying a sapphire in today’s time is not only an expensive affair but also a tricky task. In the large retail market filled with different kinds of gemstones and pearls it is very excruciating to find the real gem as there could be many retailers wishing to sell a fake or look alike gem at the cost of an original. Sapphire is one of the most favorite gems for such fraud sellers. This spectacular blue colored gemstone is very highly priced in the market. Thus, for a new buyer it is essential to either seek help of an expert gemologist before purchasing such high cost gems or at least possess little information regarding other blue colored gemstones that the seller might try to sell under the name of sapphire. 
 

Sapphire’s exceptional beauty and worth can only be threatened by three gemstones which resemble a sapphire in appearance but are not as precious in nature as the real gem. Those three gemstones are iolite, Paraiba Tourmaline and tanzanite. The color of iolite, also known as water sapphire, ranges from a pastel blue to deep blue shade. The alluring shimmer of this gemstone can easily mislead a buyer for sapphire. Paraiba tourmaline is mostly found in the mines of Brazil. Its rarity and rich blue color can sometimes even take an expert by surprise. For the Tanzanite, it was first introduced by Tiffanys in 1970. Its velvety blue color with a touch of red gives it very graceful appearance as that of a sapphire. Thus, people generally get confused while distinguishing between the two.

Apart from the appearance, the price range of these blue colored gemstones also stands almost equivalent to the original sapphire. While tanzanite and iolites would be less expensive than sapphire, Paraiba tourmaline is equally priced as the original gem because of its rarity and exclusiveness. Considering this every buyer must either be fully aware of the different types of blue gemstones available in the market or seek advice from an expert before shopping for a piece of sapphire jewelry.