In this article
Written by Sameer
Reviewed on
Traditional belief vs gemmology: anything on this page about luck, protection, planets, healing or religious tradition describes traditional and cultural beliefs — not proven effects, religious rulings or medical advice. A stone's identity, hardness, treatment and origin are gemmology, which a lab can test; the references at the end of the page cover that side.
If you were born in September, your birthstone is sapphire, the stone everyone in Pakistan knows as neelam. It is the stone we get asked about more than any other, and honestly most of those people are not September babies at all; they want it for astrological reasons. Either way, the questions that decide whether a sapphire is any good are the same.
What sapphire actually is
Sapphire is corundum, the same mineral as ruby, and its blue comes mostly from traces of iron and titanium. Corundum turns up in nearly every colour. The red ones are called ruby, and everything else is sapphire: yellow sapphire, which we call pukhraj, plus pink, orange and colourless sapphire. For September, blue is the traditional choice.
Origin moves the price
Sapphire is mined in many countries, and the market puts a different value on each source. That is why two blue stones of about the same weight can be miles apart in price.
- Kashmir: the famous soft, velvety cornflower blue, from mines that were mostly exhausted by the late 1800s. These days it is mainly a collector and auction stone, and any Kashmir claim needs an independent lab behind it.
- Ceylon (Sri Lanka): bright, clean, lively stones in lighter tones. This is the everyday benchmark for a sapphire you can actually wear, and where much of our blue sapphire comes from.
- Burma (Myanmar): deeper, richer "royal" blues.
- Africa: seen more and more, often darker, and usually the better-value end of the market.
When we know the origin, we put it on the listing. If a seller can't tell you, assume the most ordinary source.
Looking at the stone itself
Don't fall for "the darker the better". A very dark sapphire often looks black once you are indoors. What you want is a strong blue that stays blue in normal room light, well away from any spotlight.
A little silk is fine; cracks are not. Fine rutile needles are normal inside natural sapphire. Fractures that reach the surface are a different matter.
Look for a window. Rough sapphire is expensive, so cutters sometimes leave a stone shallow to hold on to weight. Look straight down into it. If you can read print through the middle, light is escaping and the stone will look washed out.
Every listing on our sapphire category page shows the price of that one stone.
Treatments and imitations
Heating is routine for sapphire. It is stable and accepted. An untreated stone with good colour costs more and should come with paperwork. Two treatments deserve real caution. Diffusion pushes colour into only the surface of a pale stone, and a re-cut can polish it right off. Lead-glass filling is used on heavily fractured material. Both have to be disclosed. Lab-made sapphire and blue glass are sold as neelam too, and they tend to look too clean and too evenly coloured. If you want certainty, have the stone checked by an independent laboratory.
Neelam in Vedic tradition
This is where sapphire is different from every other birthstone in Pakistan. In the Vedic navaratna, blue sapphire belongs to Saturn (Shani) and is traditionally thought of as the fastest-acting and most powerful of the nine stones. By custom it is worn only after seeing an astrologer and wearing it on trial for a few days. Pukhraj is a separate stone, linked to Jupiter. So the stone your chart calls for and your birthstone may not be the same thing; see gemstones by rashi and our birthstone guide.
How tough it is, and how to clean it
Sapphire is 9 on the Mohs scale, beaten only by diamond, which makes it ideal for a ring you plan to wear every day for decades. Warm soapy water and a soft brush are all it needs to stay bright.
Giving sapphire
Blue sapphire has long been a favourite for engagement and anniversary rings because it handles daily wear so well. For a September birthday, a bright Ceylon stone in a simple setting is very hard to beat. If the gift is meant for astrological use, let the person check with their astrologer first.
Buying sapphire from us
Each stone in our blue sapphire and yellow sapphire collections is photographed as it is and comes with its own weight and price, plus origin and treatment where we know them. You pay Cash on Delivery after checking the stone in front of the rider, and you have 7 days to return it. Karachi orders usually arrive within 1–2 working days. To read more about sources, see sapphire origins.
References
