A little information on sapphires
Sapphires
Sapphires: Totally my mom's favorite stone. She had five sapphire rings and treasured each one of them. Sapphire is the most popular blue gemstone and one of the most popular gemstones overall. Sapphires come in a range of colors not just the beloved blue. They are also available in white, yellow, pink, green, purple, orange and black these colors are generally referred to as fancy. The blues can range from baby blue to royal blue.
Sapphires are very hard and are a 9 on the mohs scale of hardness only the diamond is harder. Despite Sapphires hardness, special care should be take with these stones because they are still subject to fracture or chipping if they are mistreated or abused. Sapphires are found in Africa, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Myanmar, North America, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
Sapphires symbolize loyalty, nobility, sincerity and integrity. Sapphire is the birthstone for September.
More detailed information on Sapphires can be found on the following site.
GIA Sapphire Quality Factors