CHAMPAGNE DIAMOND
MINERAL - DIAMOND
COLOUR - LIGHT BROWN TO DARK BROWN WITH YELLOW UNDERTONES
MOH's HARDNESS - 10
BIRTHSTONE - APRIL
ANNIVERSARY - 60TH
MEANING -It's believed that these diamonds connect the wearer with the earth and nature. Champagne diamonds are also said to symbolise order, stability and clarity.
Champagne diamonds get their colour from stress and the presence of nitrogen deep inside the earth millions of years ago. This changes the diamond’s crystal lattice and forms a unique texture called ‘graining’. The crystal lattice changes the way the diamond reflects light. The diamond crystal then absorbs many wavelengths of light which allow our eyes to see it as champagne.
GRADING -Usually, diamond colour is graded on a scale from D to Z, where D represents colourless and Z a slight yellow hue. Champagne diamonds are graded differently as the colour intensity is more rare and valued, it requires a different colour grading scheme. Champagne diamonds have a separate diamond colour grading method. The GIA laboratory will only describe a Champagne diamond as fancy light yellow-brown, or yellowish brown. However, the Argyle Mine has set up their own diamond grading system for these fancy colour diamonds, which ranges from C1 all the way to C7, where C1 is a light champagne colour and C7 a dark colour bordering Cognac diamonds.
The clarity of a Champagne diamonds is graded the same way as white stones, from Flawless to Included. Clarity refers to the level of blemishes or inclusions in the stone. Of course, the fewer the flaws, the more valuable the stone. With champagne diamonds, we recommend opting for ‘eye clean’ – meaning there are no flaws visible to the naked eye. There are very few flawless champagne diamonds, and the highest clarity grades are generally not worth the splurge. Depending on the shape, you can usually find an eye-clean diamond in the VS range. And with brilliant cuts, you can even find eye-clean diamonds in the SI range
AUSTRALIAN PARTI SAPPHIRE
MINERAL - CORUNDUM
COLOUR - BLUE, GREEN & YELLOW
MOH's HARDNESS - 9
BIRTHSTONE - SEPTEMBER
ANNIVERSARY - 5TH, 45TH, & 65TH
MEANING - The Parti Sapphire, in all its celestial hues, is a stone of wisdom and royalty, of prophecy and Divine favor.
Parti Sapphires (short for partition) is a stone that contains two colours due to a natural blending. Parti Sapphires cannot be manufactured, so you’re assured of a precious, one-off piece when you choose this type of stone.
GRADING - Parti sapphires are graded like other sapphires in terms of carat, cut and clarity, but it is the colour that sets them apart. As the crystal is forming, different colours appear depending on the trace elements present, creating different zoning of blues, greens and yellows. Sometimes only two of these colours appear, whereas other stones display all three. For this reason they can also be known as bi-coloured or polychrome sapphire.
When inspecting a parti sapphire, be sure to move the stone and view it via different angles, this way you can best assess its colour. The best gem cutters will work very carefully to maximise the raw crystal and colour zoning to highlight these colours.
AUSTRALIAN INK BLUE SAPPHIRE
MINERAL - CORUNDUM
COLOUR - DARK BLUE
MOH's HARDNESS - 9
BIRTHSTONE - SEPTEMBER
ANNIVERSARY - 5TH, 45TH, & 65TH
MEANING - Sapphires signify the height of celestial hope and faith, and was believed to bring protection, good fortune and spiritual insight.
Sapphire is the mineral corundum and is only second in hardness to diamond on the Moh’s scale, making it a great choice for a ring or piece of jewellery that will be frequently worn. These gems are formed as the result of volcanic activity, sometimes described as basalt hosted. Stones are recovered from both secondary deposits along current or previous watercourses, and primary or reworked pyroclastic flows or volcanic mudflows (lahars).
GRADING - Colour is the major factor when grading sapphire. Composed of aluminium and oxygen, trace elements like iron and titanium cause their colour. Due to the high iron content in Australian sapphires, they are typically dark blue and sometimes close to a black colour. However, some brighter blues can also be found, as well as yellows, greens, and parti coloured stones that show a combination of colour like green and yellow, or blue and yellow.
Sapphires come in all kinds of cuts and sizes, from small calibrated gems to large outstanding collector's items. Most sapphires are cut to maximise their colour, so they tend to be deeper in cut than white diamonds.
CEYLON PEACH SAPPHIRE
MINERAL - CORUNDUM
COLOUR - PINKISH ORANGE
MOH's HARDNESS - 9
BIRTHSTONE - SEPTEMBER
ANNIVERSARY - 5TH, 45TH, & 65TH
MEANING -The peach sapphire, also known as the champagne sapphire glimmers in all types of light. Peach sapphires are also known to symbolize emotions of love, creativity, and acceptance.
Peach Sapphires are very unique in that no two are alike. Hue, saturation, cut, clarity and carat weight all play a role in quality and value of peach sapphires. Within the “Peach Sapphire” category the colors range from those with an even mix of orange and pink others with less of one of those colours. Gems with less pink are coined ‘peach champagne’ colour, and those with more pink which we refer to as ‘blush peach’. Another option within the peach sapphire colour family is the highly coveted ; the most prized of the “fancy sapphire” family. A Padparadscha is a natural sapphire that ranges in colour from a delicate orange to deep pastel pink hue. The name Padparadscha is derived from the Sinhalese word “padmaragaya” which translates to lotus bloom or lotus colour.
GRADING - Unlike colourless diamonds, minor clarity difference does not always devalue a coloured gemstone. Coloured gemstones including sapphires do not have an internationally recognised clarity grading system. GIA (Gemological Institute of America) divides coloured gemstones into three types based on the relative tendency of birthmarks. Corundum (Sapphires) falls under Type II. Premium quality Type II stones have inclusions that can be seen under 10x magnification. White November sapphires are graded at eye level under natural sunlight
WHITE SAPPHIRE
MINERAL - CORUNDUM