September Birthstone Sapphire - antique and vintage sapphire jewelry part 1.
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If September is your birth month, then you are lucky to enjoy a birthstone
that is one of the most amazing gems created by nature. Here is the first post about your birthday gemstone, the sapphire.
"A Sapphire is blue. Right? "
Wrong! sapphires can be blue, but they can be almost every other color as well and the
Japanese have a gazillion terms for the word 'blue', so exactly which shade of blue is sapphire anyway?
#7326 
Sapphire comes in two main shades of blue, associated with geographical origin: the deep blue Kashmir. The color seems to draw you in and absorb your attention for ever and ever.
Then, the bright blue, like cornflowers, seen in this Victorian Ceylon (Sri Lankan) bracelet. Cheerful to the nth degree.
# 7304 
Ceylon Cornflower blue sapphire ring.
But sapphires come in a lot of other colors. Look at this long necklace called a sautoir.
#4411. 
How many colors can you see?
All of them are sapphires.
Ranging from bright pink, purple and yellow, sapphires can be entirely transparent, in which case, they are often confused
with diamonds (and sometimes used instead of diamonds).
When not being used as gorgeous center stones in serious jewelry, sapphires may be used to highlight quality and
contrast with other colors. Here is one of my favorate Burmese (yes actually from Burma) earrings, with a variety of
colored sapphires to make any outfit dance and sing.
#4764
Finally, where is the woman who doesn't love pink? Pink sapphires are highly desireable whether antique, vintage or modern.
So, we can find sapphires in a variety of shades. There is a lot more to say about sapphires, so please keep posted. We will discuss
various other aspects of sapphires from the strictly superstitious to the totally technical.
Questions and comments: Please email antiques@brendaginsberg.com
Find jewelry on www.brendaginsberg.com