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Sec. III, Ch. 4: The Saffire

Sec. III, Ch. 4: The Saffire Page of 366 Sec. III, Ch. 4: The Saffire Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
180                                The Sapphire.
some assume a reddish or purple colour, and occasionally have the hue of the Amethyst ; the latter being very rare are very valuable, and are known as " Oriental Amethyst."
While the typical colour of Sapphire is blue, it should be explained that the term Sapphire is extended by miner­alogists and jewellers to Corundums of other colours. Thus, we may have green Sapphires, a variety which was at one time regarded as amongst the rarest of precious stones ; other Sapphires may present various shades of yellow and grey, whilst others again may be entirely desti­tute of colour ; these pure white Sapphires being sometimes mistaken, when skilfully cut, for Diamonds. In fact, trans­parent Corundums fit for jewellery may be ranged in two groups ; those of red or reddish colours being called Ruby, and those of any other tint passing under the designation of Sapphire. The colours and shades of Sapphire are very numerous.
Although Sapphires enjoy a fairly wide geographical distribution, those which present the standard colour, or the true corn-flower blue, are by no means common. The principal Sapphire-yielding localities now worked are in Siam, Burma, Cashmere, Ceylon, Australia and the United States. Each of these localities will be separately described in the course of this chapter. The Sapphires of Siam are the finest at present in the market ; those of Burma are too dark or blackish ; Cashmere has yielded some very fine stones, but others are only greyish-blue ; while those of Ceylon are usually too pale in colour to be of great value, though occasionally very fine Sapphires are found there. Large deposits of Sapphire occur in Montana, but the stones are mostly of green and other fancy tints, though sometimes peacock-blue. The Sapphires of Australia are generally too dark and full of iron, and not at present of much commercial significance.
Sec. III, Ch. 4: The Saffire Page of 366 Sec. III, Ch. 4: The Saffire
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