Show someone special just how special they are to you by giving them a STAR. Star Sapphire is a very special and unique type of gemstone not commonly or easily available.
Check out these geniune star sapphires at
http://user.auctions.shopping.yahoo.com/sg/user/mantianxing7?Feel free to ask questions. And read the following FAQ.
What's a Star Sapphire?Sapphires are a gemstone which belongs to the corundum mineral group (which rubies belongs to too). It has a hardness of 9 on MOH scale only topped by natural diamonds which has a hardness of 10.
Sometimes, the arrangements of the rutile needles (known as "silk" ) in the sapphire reflects light in an effect called asterism. In a nutshell, light is reflected into a 6 legged star which "floats" on the face of the gem. This is a very beautiful and mysterious effect which is purely a creation of nature. The star moves around on the gem with the light source or the angle you look at it. This effect happens less than 10% of the time and is effectively even more difficult to come across because many star sapphires are treated to product normal sapphire by gem mines because of the bigger market. It is however starting to gain popularity which sees more of it in the market and a hike in price. The most famous star sapphire in the world is arguably the Star of India, a whopping 563.35 carats. Even more rare than a regular star sapphire, sometimes 2 stars can overlap in 1 star sapphire and created a 12 legged star. While synthetics are available, but they can be very easily told apart from a natural star.
There's plenty of resources on the internet on star sapphires. Do check them out.
What can I do with this item?Well, basically, anything you want. The star is really mesmerising, and it can be addictive to look at it; Photos cannot bring out the beauty. You have to see it for yourself.
It can be very effectively be made into jewellery. Personally I find pendants and bracelets the most suitable jewellery type. Smaller ones can be effective be casted into rings for guys or gals.
Star sapphires makes excellent gifts, either as a completed jewellery or a single stone.
1) It's completely natural therefore completely unique. No 2 stones are exactly the same and no 2 stars are exactly the same. Your star sapphire will be one of a kind.
2) In my opinion, not even diamonds (and other faceted stones) can offer so much "uniqueness". Because diamonds and other faceted (cut into shape) gems usually are cut into very similiar shapes because there are formulas for what is the most reflective angles for different gems. You have to admit, the difference between 1 round brillance cut gem and the next is not observable for most of us without a loupe. The highlight of star sapphires is in the colour of the gem and the star. Every gem and every star is different and very recognisable from each other.
3) Because it's still largely unknown commercially, it makes a very unique and memoriable gift.
4) There are few thing that beats giving someone a "star".
5) It's a precious gem.
Star sapphires are not costume jewelries.The top quality ones can surpass diamonds in price per carat. A star sapphire with high clarity, good colour, defined star and good size is virtually priceless. Now, what I see as the REAL value is I see this gem getting more valuable as its popularity and demand increased.
Synthetics and enhancementsMan made gems (including sapphire and star sapphires) are usually referred to as "lab grown/created" and can be further grouped into Synthetics and Simulants, and each type has different production methods which produces different quality replicas. Some synthetic makers claims that they are just "doing exactly what Mother Nature does over thousands of years in the lab with science and shorten time span", and some simulant makers says "only an expert gemologist can tell the difference under a microscope", and some others just plainly selling cheap coloured glass fakes. While I wouldn't call all of them "fakes" (some of them are really corrundum), but I call all of them replicas and imitations. And not matter what they claim, there's a way to tell them apart or the gem industry would have collapsed long ago.
A famous synthetic star sapphire brand is called the Linde star sapphire. It's so famous some refers to all synthetic stars as Linde stars. It's actually the name of a company which produced synthetic stars in the 40s. Not all synthetic stars are Linde stars, but all Linde stars are synthetic stars.
Another method to artifically create star sapphires is to by "diffusion" enhancments. In a nutshell, this takes a natural sapphire without a star and artifically creates a star on it. While this is a real sapphire gem, the star is still artifically created.
Here are some rule-of-thumbs which I find helpful and I think is pretty effective.
1) Natural star sapphire's star are best viewed (in my opinion) under (a) direct sunlight (b) a point light source (e.g. a small torchlight) and (c) naked flame (e.g. candlelight), in that order. Under normal lighting, the star is not too obvious or not clear. Synthetic stars can be seen clearly under any lighting conditions.
2) Synthetic stars produced by the Linde company has a "L"stamped on the back. That's a sure mark it's a synthetic star.
3) Artificial stars (including diffusion enhancements) are so defined that it looks almost painted on. In my opinion, they look almost "electrical", as opposed to the "softer" star of a natural.
4) Some people tries to pass of cheap colored glass as star sapphires. These stars doesn't move with the light source or when your rotate the star.
5) Nature is meant to have imperfections. It's these that gives each star sapphire it's individual charateristics. Most star sapphires dun have perfectly straight legs, with perfectly centered star, with all legs reaching the bottom, on perfectly coloured, clear, transparant stone.
While the some of the highest top quality star sapphires can have "suspicious" signs (Clear, defined star under normal light, high clarity, intense strong colour, and high transparancy, etc) these are usually in museums or in the collection of the rich and famous and should have internationally recognised certifications (certs by the company that sells them DON'T COUNT). While the rule of thumbs are not hard and fast rules, I find them useful for hobbist like myself.
Why is it so cheap? Is it good?Thank the Internet and Yahoo Auctions. I don't have to pay $5K a month for rental. I dun have to pay $2K a month for utilities bills. I dun have to pay $8K a month for labour costs. I can afford to only sell 1 piece a month because this is not full time. So i save on the overheads, and I pass the savings on to you. And most importantly, I'm not greedy.
You are looking this at close to wholesaler price.
More Information on Star Sapphires:
http://www.geo.utexas.edu/courses/347k/redesign/gem_notes/corundum/corundum_main.htm#starsapphire http://www.geo.utexas.edu/courses/347k/redesign/gem_notes/corundum/corundum_main.htm#starsapphirehttp://sowle.com/about_star_sapphire_page.htmAll Rights Reserved.
