Sapphire is the official birthstone for the month of September and is the gemstone suggested for fifth and 45th wedding anniversaries. Sapphire has been popular since the Middle Ages but gained global appeal in 1981 when Princess Diana was engaged. Her ring was designed using a 12 carat oval blue Ceylon sapphire surrounded by 14 round brilliant cut diamonds set in 18 karat white gold.
Famous for its glorious blue color, sapphire is a variety of the corundum species. Due to its natural trace elements, sapphire comes in a range of colors including yellow, pink, purple, green, orange, white, colorless, and brown. When the trace elements are iron and titanium, the corundum is blue sapphire. Only a few hundredths of a percent of iron and titanium can cause the color, and the more iron the corundum contains, the darker the blue.
