Australian Sapphires…Information and Background

Sapphires have been found in various locations along the eastern seaboard of Australia, from as far north as Cooktown down to the island of Tasmania in the south.  However, from a practical and commercial viewpoint the main locations, Central Queensland and northern New South Wales are where most of the mining activity occurs. Since 2021, and as a result of an international company’s injection of capital, mining and business expertise and marketing, there has been a significant growth of interest not only in local consumption in Australia, but also from overseas gem dealers and Jewellery manufacturers.  This could bode well for a fuller appreciation of Australian Sapphires as well as possibly driving future exploration for more deposits.

How Are Our Gemstones Graded?   

In order to help in comparison and evaluation of what you are looking at we use the following grading system.  AAA, AA and A.  Regardless of the gem type or size the elements that are considered in the evaluation are the following in no particular order.  Colour/tone, cutting quality, brightness/light reflection, number and visibility of inclusions and flaws. 

AAA: This is a fine quality gem and exhibits well in all categories.  Specifically, very good colour and in the top percentile of that particular gem variety range of colour.  Very good cutting so for example no thin or overly thick stones.  Well proportioned.  Polish shows no surface blemishes and no eye visible internal marks or inclusions.  Good brightness and life.  In other words, a gemstone that could be utilized in a top end piece of jewellery.

AA: Good quality gemstone but may be a lacking in something from the AAA above criteria.  For example, colour and cutting may be AAA but number and visibility of inclusions drop it down to AA or stone is clean and well cut but is medium instead of top colour. 

A: Gemstones which are at the lower end of the usability scale.  These may have a few or a number of issues which could be too dark, too light, off size. poorly cut, dull, included etc.  In saying that they may still be suitable for price-pointed merchandise.  Generally chosen for price.  Where the goal of keeping cost of components as low as possible is important so use of cost savings measures from start to finish.

What Colours Can Australian Sapphire Offer Us? 

Parti-Coloured 

Yet to be fully appreciated, the parti-coloured Sapphire is the Australian gemstone equivalent to the legendary Kashmir Sapphire from India, top blues from Myanmar or Pailin in Cambodia or the Padparadscha Sapphire from Sri Lanka or even the Yogo Sapphire from the USA.   Just as those Sapphire varieties are much admired and sought after in the gemstone industry, the Parti-Colour is similarly the standout for Australia in that it displays 2 or 3 differing colours within the one stone.  Australia has been blessed to produce the best examples of these and doubly blessed in the sense that they are actually available in a quantity to make them reasonably accessible to all Sapphire lovers and not just maharajahs and oligarchs.  One of the great things about Parti-colours is that they are not just a ”one model”  variety.  Essentially, the colour variation is caused by the relative location and amount of green, yellow and blue colour zones. Sometimes, very rarely, it is possible to find purple and orange zones. For all intents and purposes however, the most spectacular will have strong areas of yellow and lighter green and not too much of the darker blue. Ideally, the gemstone cutter can position the lighter tones of green and yellow in the culet area of the pavilion which will bring out the best reflection of light movement as the stone is moved. Unlike other gemstones showing bi or tri-colour, like Ametrine or Bi-coloured Tourmaline, Parti-colour Sapphires tend not to have distinct, larger colour zones. They rely more on the movement of light passing through the different zones as the stone is moved and tilted. However, there are many different colour combinations possible, so from the point of view of someone wanting something “different”, this is very possible.  After seeing 000’s of partis over the years, I can safely say that very rarely can you get two exactly the same.

Green Sapphire 

Almost all of this particular colour variety is in fact, characterised by a degree of yellow.  If you think of other “green” stones such as Emerald, Green Tourmaline, Peridot or Tsavorite, this variance from the IDEAL (and highly individualized) concept of “Green” is quite normal and of course is the outcome of the particular chemical geology of the source. So quite normal for Green Sapphire from Australia to be modified by some yellow.  The amount/placement of the modifying yellow zone will determine its appearance. From strong green all the way to olive toned when higher proportion of yellow.

Blue/Green (Teal) 

These have been growing in popularity for some time now and for us, have actually become more popular than the blues.  The Blue/Greens are distinguished by being simply a mix of both blue and green.  The mix and proportion of tones/colours is all along the spectrum however, so could be a blue with a slight amount of green all the way to green with a slight amount of blue.  Keeping in mind that the blues can tend to be a bit more saturated or “inky”, the better end would be lighter/brighter.  Obviously, the proportion of blue to green and the size will determine where on the colour spectrum that particular gem lies. 

Yellow 

Yellows are definitely in the minority in Australian facet rough production.  Consequently, they are rarer and certainly more sought after.  Over the years we have processed many thousands of carats of rough material and yellows are down in the sub 5% occurrence frequency range.   Yellows appear to be more common in other country sources such as Madagascar, Myanmar, Tanzania and Sri Lanka.  As with all gemstones, rarity/availability contribute to prices, so the Australian Yellow Sapphires tend to be more highly prized in Australia and consequently priced accordingly.  This does in turn put them at a disadvantage in the international marketplace.   They are however very pretty with great colour and life.

Blue Sapphire 

If your concept of Blue Sapphire is based on “Ceylon type” colour tones, then the Blues from Australia will require a conscious adjustment to the “dark side”.  Finding similar tones to the Sri Lankan (Ceylon type) Sapphire is just not possible.  Because of the inherent and underlying geological and chemical differences, Australian blues are more saturated and can darken up to the point of being black and lifeless as they get larger.  The larger they are the more saturated (darker) they appear.  All to do with light transference, chemistry, geology and science.  What’s larger?  What’s dark?  This is of course personal opinion so find your own sweet spot is the way to go.   Generally speaking, they are starting to move from a “rich” tone to a “dark” tone at around the 5mm mark.  Naturally, going to be exceptions for this and PLEASE notice the operative word is “generally”.  There is still a good market for the richer blue tones, however from a gem dealers’ perspective, colour is king and a very dark 3 carat Australian blue is not going to stack up colour wise against a nice 3 carat Sri Lankan blue.   The plus is that in smaller stones the Australian blue colour can be stunning.  Our photos will be as accurate as possible and if we cannot get a good close photo representation of ‘real life”, it will be noted in the lot description.

Other Colours

Occasionally, other colours do surface such as Pink, purple and Orange but fair to say that these are not common enough to make them marketable commercially.  I have seen several very large Orange Sapphires that are highly (and correctly expensive).

What advantages/benefits are there in purchasing Australian Sapphire? 

• Mining in Australia is governed by strict and enforced regulation to encourage safe practices in equipment handling, management of hazardous materials, responsible land management and of course safety for workers.
• No child labour which is of course prevalent in many locations overseas.
• Australian law emphasizes the need for fair working conditions and care to the safety and well-being for all employees.
• All mined areas are restored to original natural habitat after the area has been completed.
• Care is taken to maximize and recycle water used in operation.
• Licenses and fees paid to regulatory bodies to ensure mining is done responsibly and promote care of environment.