White or "Colorless" Sapphires have a great deal of brilliance, are attractive, durable and well priced. Gem quality Colorless Sapphires are not common. In fact they are very difficult to obtain, so prices should continue to move upward in the market. Some Colorless Sapphires have a very light tint of Blue, Yellow, or Pink but are still considered colorless.
Colorless (white) Sapphire has been used as a substitute for Diamond for years. We often suggest Colorless (white) Sapphire as the accent stones in jewelry pieces, and the larger gems make excellent main stones in pendants and rings. White Sapphire is a natural precious gem, and as such, stands on it's own merit as a beautiful precious gemstone. Brilliant and Clean Colorless (white) Sapphires are gaining popularity as a highly valued Collectors Gemstone. History & Lore When Roman Catholics select a new pope, a gold ring set with a sapphire is traditionally placed on his ring finger, symbolizing marriage to the church. Buddhists ascribed sacred magical power to the sapphire and believed that it reconciled mankind to God.
It was said to be a good amulet against fear, to promote the flow of good spirits, to prevent ague and gout, and to prevent the eyes being affected by smallpox. The sixteenth-century writer Camillo Leonardo claimed: "The sapphire heals sores, and is found to discharge a carbuncle with a single touch."
The occult writer Francis Barrett stated in his book The Magus (1801): "A Sapphire, or a stone that is of a deep blue color, if it be rubbed on a tumor wherein the plague discovers itself, (before the party is too far gone) and if, by and by it be removed from the sick, the absent jewel attracts all the poison, or contagion there from."
According to Rebbenu Bachya, and many English Bible translations, the word Sapir in the verse Exodus 28:18 means sapphire and was the stone on the Ephod representing the tribe of Issachar. Although it has been stated that the English word sapphire derives from the Hebrew sapir (via Greek sapphiros), this is disputed. Sapphires were actually not known before the Roman Empire (and were initially considered to be forms of jacinth, rather than deserving of a word to themselves), and prior to that time sapphiros referred to blue gems in general.
Sapphire Physical Properties
- Color: White ( Clear, Colorless )
- Refractive Index: 1.762 - 1.770
- Pleochroism: Strong
- Chemistry: Aluminum Oxide
- Hardness: 9.0 mho's
- Density: 4.00
- Crystal Group: Trigonal
Now Only $240.00 USD with Freight/Insurance Included nucow.com Items #1401 |