Green sapphires

With beautiful tones ranging from soft mint green to deep rainforest hues, green sapphires have been personally sourced by Master Jeweller Chris Hood for the Metal Urges collection. Chris has travelled as far as Ratnapura and Beruwala in Sri Lanka as well as Ilakaka, Madagascar in search of these amazing green sapphires. Most of these stones, however, have been sourced from Queensland, Australia where many sapphire deposits produce greens that are becoming increasingly rare.

Gemstone type

Green sapphires are part of the corundum group. Gemstones in this group are highly regarded for their hardness. At 9 on the Mohs scale, only diamond and moissanite are harder. This means that owning a green sapphires doesn’t require additional care and your stone is a robust enough to endure.

Through a good dose of pressure and heat, gemstones in this group consist of near pure aluminium oxide which crystallises, forming a gemstone. In most cases the presence of iron trace elements is what gives green sapphires their impressive colour.

How we source green sapphires

At Metal Urges we take a hands on approach. Chris spends several months a year travelling across the globe, to some of the most remote and wild mining locations to source his sapphires. green sapphires deposits are located in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, India, Kenya, China, Tanzania, Australia, Thailand and the US. Once considered quite common, the green sapphires is becoming more difficult to find.

On every trip, Chris is mindful of working ethically when sourcing green sapphires. He is committed to leaving every local community a little better off – Metal Urge’s appreciation to these communities and people is shown through donating to education, working closely with locals and injecting funds directly into the local mining communities.

Gauging value

It’s important to know how to identify green sapphires and ascertain value. Metal Urges has an impressive range in Hobart. Let’s take a look at how colour, clarity, cut and size affect value.

Green sapphire colour

We are fortunate to currently have a wide range of green sapphires. When it comes to colour, the more intense it is (with fewer distracting zones of other colours) the more valuable a stone is. Usually green sapphires are low in saturation. It is the presence of iron during formation that brings about green hues in a sapphire.

Some gem stones are incredibly pale, while others are yellow-green and blue-green. Sometimes the colour in green sapphire is the result of yellow or blue bands, which allow the eye to see green. These green sapphires are available in both faced and cabochon styles and are particularly popular for rings.

Rarely will you find clean sapphires, therefore even expensive stones can have slight inclusions. Highly saturated medium or darker green gemstones are considered best, and green or blue-green sapphires that are far too light or dark are considered lower in value.

Green sapphire clarity

It is much rarer to find a green sapphires with high clarity, therefore this adds considerable value. Usually these sapphires have some inclusions, whether it be needles (long thin mineral inclusions), semi healed inclusions or colour banding. In some instances, inclusions can increase a green sapphires value, where in other cases the durability is compromised. Metal Urges can talk you through any inclusions and what they mean for a particular stone.

Green sapphire cut

The cut of each green sapphire at Metal Urges is influenced by the shape of the rough sapphire – and how best to highlight its features. We keep in mind maximum weight, good proportions and the overall colour when choosing the cut.

Green sapphires are often faceted and cut in the round brilliant shape, but there are plenty of other options including square, emerald cut, oval and pear shaped cuts. The most typical crystal form is a barrel or spindle-shaped hexagonal pyramid.

Green sapphire weight

Size does matter when it comes to green sapphires! These stones can range from hundreds of carats to just a few points, but high-quality stones in larger sizes are rarer these days. Most you’ll find weigh below 5.00 carats.

Green sapphire symbolism

When looking at green sapphires, you’ll notice that these stones are soothing to the eye. As such, the green sapphires is known as a stone of tranquility. They are believed to bring wisdom, fidelity and an integrity to the life of the wearer. Loyalty and trust are also symbolic of green sapphire.