When you’re in the market for loose sapphire gemstones you’ll want to make sure you get the best gemstones possible. This is why it’s so important for you to know what you’re looking for.
Color
When you’re looking at blue sapphires you’ll want to make sure that it’s a saturated royal blue. This means that the gemstone should be a deep vivid blue with a violet undertone on top. There shouldn’t be any green in the gemstone whatsoever.
On the other hand, pink sapphires range in color from pale pink to red. You want to make sure they also have even color.
Clarity
You’ll never have a colored gemstone that’s graded as “flawless” like diamonds are. In fact, the highest grade any colored gemstone like a sapphire can receive is what’s known as “Eye Clean” (a.k.a. “VVS” meaning “very, very slight inclusions”). This means that any inclusions that are found here can’t be detected by your naked eye.
Inclusions are features that are “included” within the gemstone (e.g. other minerals, liquids gases) while it was being formed on Earth. You can think of these as a “birthmark.” When they’re visible to your naked eye in such a way that they distract from the gemstone’s beauty they’ll diminish the value of your gemstone.
Cut
Although you may not be able to choose the way your sapphire is cut when you’re choosing from loose gemstones this is still something that you should understand because it’s important. Once you’ve chosen your gemstone you may want to optimize its appearance. This is when gemstone faceting will be done. This requires the gemstone to be cut at the proper critical angle. To do so you must take things like the refractive index and light reflection into consideration.
Carat
When you’re choosing a sapphire (or another colored gemstone) the “face-up” size or diameter is more important than carat weight. This is something that’s measured in millimeters. For instance, a 1-carat sapphire will weigh anywhere from 5.7 to 6 mm. The bigger the sapphire is the rarer it will be and thus the more costly it’ll also be.
The Bottom Line
Knowing what to look for when you’re buying loose sapphire gemstones is important. You’ll want to find gemstones that have an even color without any glaring. It should also be neatly cut. Fortunately, there are a lot of sapphires that fit these standards so your search shouldn’t be too difficult.