Where are Opalescent Sapphires From?
How are Opalescent sapphires formed?
Distinctive Features of Silky or opalescent sapphires
Silky sapphire trends and meaning
What colors do opalescent sapphires come in?
Do silky sapphires need special cuts or settings?
Do opalescent sapphires need any special care or maintenance?
What are silky, milky, or opalescent sapphires?
While most people are familiar with the classic deep blue variety, there’s a captivating type of sapphire that truly deserves its newfound popularity. Imagine a sapphire that glows with an ethereal sheen, a stone that captures the essence of a misty dreamy morning, that dances with glowing shadows and colors reminiscent of a watercolor sunset. That is what an Opalescent sapphire brings to the table.
The Origins of Opalescent Sapphires
Silky or opalescent sapphires have been around for as long as other types of sapphires; however they've only really come to notice in the last decade or so for jewelry. What makes a sapphire opalescent is the presence of microscopic rutile needles which affect how light passes through the stone which can give it this now sought after hazy or dreamy look.
Until fairly recently opalescent sapphires were a byproduct of standard Sapphire mining efforts. Miners search and dig hoping to find big beautiful clear sapphires with no visible inclusions as these gems commanded the highest prices in the gemstone market. Any silky or opalescent Sapphires that were incidentally found, would be sold as collectible crystals to gemstone collectors and enthusiasts. This began to change in the 1990s.
Formation and Occurrence
Silky or Opalescent Sapphires are formed in the same way all sapphires are and that is from molten mixtures of elements like iron titanium and chromium combining together in just the right quantities and depositing in fissures within harder rocks to form corundum crystals in all the usual places sapphires are mined like Australia, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka.
Characteristics of Opalescent Sapphires
What sets an opalescent Sapphire apart from its transparent and sparkly counterparts is the presence of microscopic rutile needles within the crystal structure. These rutile needles need to be oriented in just the right way to give the glowing, hazy effect that is desired by lovers of opalescent sapphires. The best opalescent sapphires closely resemble the translucency or glow of opal, hence the name.
Rising Popularity and Symbolic Meanings
For as long as rutile has been a known cause for this hazy effect these types of stones have simply been called rutile sapphire or silky sapphire within the gem industry. With the recent rise in the popularity for these gems, a more ‘Instagram worthy’ name has helped popularize them. The name ‘Opalescent Sapphire’ is now more widely known for this type of stone.
These gems are popular not just with sapphire lovers but also with Opal lovers who up until now had few options for everyday jewelry made of opals due to their lack of durability. Because sapphires are a nine out of ten in hardness they can easily wear these stones everyday without risk of damage.
Sapphires carry a special meaning in many cultures, this remains true for Opalescent varieties. The array of colors and glowing appearance are linked to creativity, inspiration, and emotional well-being, so it’s no surprise that some folks believe that these gemstones can spark imagination, fuel passion, and create a sense of harmony in one’s life.
Variety of Colors
Silky sapphire colors span the full spectrum of colors that traditional sapphires do, with red and pinkish red colors usually being rubies rather than sapphires.
The last five years have seen the most popular colors for this stone being pinks, lavender, peaches and pale blues, with greens, yellows and overly dark tones falling further behind. Individual stones which exhibit multiple shades in the same stone, like pink with purple, are extremely rare and tend to be much more valuable than single color varieties.
Much more recently however there has been an uptick in the popularity for grass green and olive green varieties of opalescent sapphires.
Special Cuts and Settings
Because opalescent sapphires are translucent, care has to be taken with how they are cut and set in order to maximize their best qualities and prevent them from becoming overly dull or what's called in the trade ‘extinguished’ in appearance. Here at Gem Sanctum we have the skills and experience to pick the best possible stones and design the most suitable settings so you can get the most dreamy effect possible from your silky sapphire jewelry.
Caring for Opalescent Sapphires
Care requirements for opalescent sapphire jewellery is no different to any other kind of Sapphire jewellery you can read more about it here.
The only difference for opalescent sapphires is that you may find yourself needing to clean them a little more often at home than you would for other transparent gemstones, this is due to the translucency of the stone. Because there is already less light going through the stone it will start to appear dull sooner as it collects everyday dust and dirt, especially when compared to stones like diamonds or traditional transparent sapphires.
Ready to find your own? Browse our collection of opalescent sapphires — each one hand-picked for that hypnotic inner glow.
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