A Comprehensive Guide to Purple Sapphire Jewellery
There’s no denying the incredible beauty of sapphire jewellery: an increasingly popular gemstone for engagement rings, necklaces and statement pieces, this unique gemstone captures the essence of love, romance, and eternal partnership.
However, while the blue sapphire is typically more renowned, at Jason Ree, we are proud to work with all types of sapphire colours, including the gorgeous purple sapphire. It’s a precious gemstone that is highly sought after due to its unique colourings and properties; this guide will introduce you to the magic of purple sapphire jewellery.
The History and Origins of the Purple Sapphire
The purple sapphire is of astounding beauty. Typically known as violet sapphires or plum sapphires, these gemstones can come in a wide range of colours and hues. For example, you could have a light violet sapphire, with hints of blue, or a more classic purple sapphire with reflections of pink through the gemstone.
Purple sapphire is derived from the Corundum mineral family, and they have unique colourings thanks to the combination of chromium and iron together with traces of titanium.
They are typically found in Madagascar: a country well-known for producing the material corundum that can create the vibrant colours of the purple sapphire. Other countries renowned for their purple sapphire production include: Australia, India, Thailand, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.
The Meanings of Purple Sapphires
Sapphires hold great mystery, magic, and power in many corners of the world.
For the eternal lovers amongst us, it’s the perfect gift for your 45th anniversary. Sapphires hold great meaning for love and devotion, and the purple sapphire in particular is a traditional wedding gift for this year of celebration.
The purple sapphire holds great spiritual meaning and significance, particularly in Hindu astrology: it’s a stone colour that holds tremendous power. With this meaning, it also brings peace of mind, enhanced self-confidence, and professional success. As with all sapphires, it has deep links to the planet Saturn, so people aligned with this planet will gain many benefits from wearing it.
The Unique Properties of Purple Sapphires
As with any gemstone, the purple sapphire has unique properties that potential wearers can look for when purchasing it.
Take care when choosing a purple sapphire that you pick one that has a vivid colour: these gemstones are unique for their colour-changing properties. Under certain light, a sapphire can appear a light violet, and in others a deep purple. These colour shifts are incredibly popular and valuable, and most importantly make for the most incredible centrepiece stone of any jewellery piece.
One of the most incredible properties of some sapphires is the optical phenomenon they can display, called asterism. Asterism is found in stones where a star-like reflection is produced against the natural colour of the stone - which as you can imagine, in a purple sapphire is exceptional, like the galaxy in a night sky. If a sapphire is found to produce this effect, it’s then cut as cabochons to display the star reflection as clearly as possible. Other cuts popular in sapphires include oval, baguette, and round: because of their hardness and durability, sapphire is able to be worn in many faceted cuts.
How to Care for Your Purple Sapphire
We’ve mentioned already that sapphires of all colours are incredibly hard and durable stones: second, only to diamond, it’s the perfect gemstone for jewellery you wear every day.
However, this doesn’t mean they’re not susceptible to the usual dirt and grime frequently found on everyday jewellery. But, it’s easy to keep these stones clean:
- Use a combination of warm water and gentle soap
- Use a soft-bristled brush to gently scrub at any impurities, dirt, or grime that is on the gemstone
- Rinse with clean water and dry with a soft cloth.
Alternatively, if you bought your gemstone from a trusted supplier, you can see if they offer cleaning as part of their services. At Jason Ree, we offer complimentary lifetime cleaning and stone security inspection to ensure your sapphire remains safe and sparkling forever.
We know that any piece of jewellery will hold incredible meaning and value to the wearer, and that’s why at Jason Ree, we design everlasting pieces. All sapphires tell a story and this is especially true for purple sapphires.
Fall in love with our purple sapphire pieces here, or get started in designing the perfect custom piece by booking a conversation with Jason Ree today.