Wednesday, November 04, 2020

10 Fun Sapphire Facts for November

 


  1. Sapphires have been coveted and worn in jewelry for thousands of years in ancient Persia, the Roman Empire, and throughout the Middle Ages
  2. Sapphires come in a rainbow of colors! Including blues, yellows, orange, pinks, green.  Red corundum is called Ruby. Colors other than blue are called Fancy Sapphires.
  3. Sapphire (corundum) is one of the hardest minerals!  It ranks a 9 on the Mohs hardness scale.
  4. Blue sapphire gets its color from iron and titanium. Ruby gets its color from chromium.
  5. One of the rarest sapphires is a pinkish-orange color called padparadscha. The name is derived from a Sinhalese word for lotus flower. These gemstones can be found in the rivers in and around Sri Lanka
  6. The word Sapphire comes from the Greek word “Sapheiros“, and the Latin word “Saphirus” which means blue.
  7. Sapphires are often heat-treated to improve their color and clarities.
  8. The largest Sapphire ever cut is the Millennium Sapphire discovered in Madagascar, weighing an impressive 61,500 carats.
  9. Sapphires are Pleochroism stones. Meaning, viewing these stones from two different angles (like the top view and the side view), may produce two totally different colors; green in one view, blue in another.
  10. Blue Sapphire is the proper gift for these Wedding Anniversaries: 5th, 10th, 12th, 16th (Star Sapphire), 45th, and the 85th Wedding Anniversaries.
  11.  Some of the best sapphires are mined in Kashmir, Burma, and Sri Lanka (Ceylonese).
  12. The most famous sapphire ring today is the royal sapphire ring given by Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. Princess Catherine now wears the ring. The ring possesses a 12-carat oval blue sapphire and is surrounded by diamonds.


Do you have any sapphire facts to share? 


 

Fluorite Cubes


Love these fluorite cubes! They are so cool just as they are and would make great stocking stuffers for your favorite rock nerd.


https://prettyrock.com/php/facet-rough-variety-green-fluorite.php
 

Wednesday, July 08, 2020

Guess how many rocks and win $20 gift certificate!


We are having some fun this week!  Can you guess how many rocks are in the jar?  

You will when a $20 gift certificate AND all the rocks in the jar!!
Don't reply here, post your answer on our Facebook page.



Monday, July 06, 2020

20% off sale!


We mostly post on Facebook these days, but I thought I would share that we are having a sale!
Does anyone read this anymore?