What's the birthstone for September in Australia?

Are Sapphires Blue?

Sapphires actually come in all the colours of the rainbow -pink, green, yellow, orange.. But not red, because red sapphires are called Rubies! 

One intriguing fact is that some sapphires can change colours depending on the light you look at them in, they can change from blue to purple and even green, in different lighting.

We all associate Sapphire with blue though and the deep blue sapphire is the birthstone for September in Australia.



What does the birthstone for September in Australia, sapphire mean?

The word Sapphire comes from a Greek word "Sapheiros' and the latin word 'Saphirus' which literally means blue.

What does Septembers birthstone sapphire represent?

Ancient Persians believed that the earth was resting on a giant sapphire and that the sky was blue from the reflection.

To some religions the blue colour of the sapphire represents the heavens and sapphires were a holy stone to the catholic church. The story goes that the 10 commandments were inscribed on sapphire tablets, so they must have had tiny hand writing or enormous sapphires!

What qualities does sapphire have?

As one of the strongest gemstones, only a diamond can scratch a sapphire and because of this hardness they have been used for some amazing things. Like how about this, the Apple Watch has lab created sapphire glass as the screen for extra durability.

Who first wore sapphire?

They say it was the ancient Romans who first polished sapphires to wear as sapphire jewellery and sapphires have been used to represent royalty for a long time. Maybe that's why we call the colour royal blue, well royal blue?

French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte gave his beloved Josephine a sapphire engagement ring in 1776. The ring sold at auction in 2013 for nearly a million dollars, it was a simple pear shaped stone on a plain gold band. 

During Victorian times sapphires were the choice of stone for engagement rings, often surrounded with diamonds. These days the most famous sapphire engagement ring is the one Prince Charles gave to Lady Dianna in 1981 and then Prince William gave it to Kate Middleton when he proposed to her.

What are Sapphire Powers?
In the middle ages it was believed that sapphire had magic healing properties and it was ground up to use as an antidote to poison, to fix eye problems and to cure fevers, nosebleeds, ulcers and pretty much any illness.

If you want to banish evil spirits you may like to wear some sapphire jewellery ... really.. it was thought to banish evil spirits, protect you from sorcery and send negative spells back to the sender.

What's sapphire's meaning?

Given the history of these incredible stones it makes sense that Sapphire symbolises truth, sincerity, integrity and faithfulness and are associated with health, focusing the mind and maintaining self discipline.

Can anyone wear sapphire?

While sapphire is September birthstone, anyone can wear sapphire jewellery any time. Whether you know someone who deserves such a treat, or you just want one for yourself, you'll find plenty of beautiful sapphire jewellery in Australia at Desiderate Jewellery.

If you're looking for Australian sapphire jewellery, see our collection here.