Location: Taraba, Kaduna, Bauchi and Yobe states
The word Sapphire comes from the Greek “Sapphires”, which means blue. These are the blue gemstones most often seen in jewellery, with colours ranging from pale, ice blue to deep, cobalt blue. Sapphires also come in orange-pink, golden, white, and even black. The natural crystal form of sapphire is called a trigonal (three-sided prisms).
Millions of years ago, source rocks inside the earth’s crust were subjected to intense pressures and high temperatures, causing the atoms to recombine into new metamorphic (changed) rocks which included rubies and sapphires (corundum).
Sapphires, like any naturally occurring gemstone, are formed by the different shifts, mixings and chemical changes that are constantly taking place in the earth. Then, Sapphire gemstones are created through certain shifts in heat and pressure and can be found in both metamorphic and igneous rocks.
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When Sapphires are formed naturally, they are hexagonal and are called corundum. Due to the remarkable hardness of sapphires, second only to diamonds, they are highly prized.
The more important determinants that affect the value of this stone are its cut, clarity, carat, and colour.
Sapphire is one of the hardest gemstones. It ranks 9 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness, closely second to diamond. This means that this cannot be easily shattered or scratched.
Besides sapphire jewelry, this beautiful blue gem is used in other, unexpected ways. Thanks to its durability, sapphire is used to create watch crystals for several Swiss timepieces, as well as Apple watches. It can also be used to create scientific instruments, electronic wafers, and high-durability windows.
