Australian Sapphires

Australian Sapphires

Home to a world renowned collection of precious Australian Sapphires.

You'll be amazed to discover that sapphires come in every colour of the rainbow!
The Central Queensland Gemfields produce a wide range of colours and sizable crystals.

Particularly notable are the rich golden yellow and parti-coloured stones (combinations of more than one colour, mostly yellow and blue). Along with the orange and pink coloured sapphires, these golden yellows and parti-colours are referred to in the gem trade as 'fancy stones". In addition to the rich blue colours, the Central Queensland Gemfields are noted for the finest fancy stones in the world.

History

Sapphires are part of our Australian heritage. Australian sapphires have been mined
and marketed for more than 100 years. In the early years they were sold to the
Germans, Russians, and other European nationals. In more recent times buyers from
Thailand have taken advantage of the increased supply of rough sapphire on the market
due to the introduction of machinery mining. There are still plenty of sapphires to be
found, however most of the remaining ground is restricted to hand mining, consequently
the supply is limited.

Cutting

The sapphires cut at Rubyvale Gem Gallery differ significantly from Australian sapphires cut overseas. Our sapphires are facetted by our expert gem-cutters, with strict care given to the proper use of angles for the refractive index of the sapphire to get the best possible colour and brilliance from the crystal and produce a correctly proportioned gem, thus ensuring the finest quality stones. Some overseas countries produce the finished product in bulk at minimal cost. Stones cut by these overseas cutters are referred to as "native cut" and are usually cut for size and colour, with little regard to correct faceting standards, which may result in dull looking stones with flaws included.

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