How do sapphires get graded?

Sapphires Graded gemstone is different from diamonds especially with stones which reply upon color for the value and beauty were as with diamonds the clearer the diamond typically the higher the value especially in diamonds F color below. which many people call 4 C.

I try and give you some information which I hope will help belowBuy Dark royal blue = GIA B 7/4  Royal blue GIA B 6/5

sapphires the color of the stone can create up to 70-80% of the value, the color is split between tone and saturation along with the main color of sapphire to create the GIA color grade,  for blue sapphires the most valuable sapphires are with a) with no secondary colors, pure blue or b) with a slight hint violet.

Most of our blue sapphires you will see the gemologist has given the color with a capital B = pure blue no secondary colors, now a sapphire with a small v followed by a capital B or vB would = a sapphire 90% blue with a hint of violet = v. Tone is graded by numbers from 0 to 8 with zero with no tone ( white or clear ) sapphires and followed the saturation from 0 to 6. A white sapphire should always carry the tone and saturation as 0/0 whereas a very dark sapphire could be as high as B 8/6 or B 8/7 which is almost black or very dark blue and not a transparent sapphire with a low market value.

 

To try and show this sapphire grading for the sapphires most people look at buying would be sapphires like royal blue which would be GIA B or vB 6/5 & 6/4, unless you like deep or dark blue sapphires you typically would not want a sapphire with a tone level higher than a 6 and saturation lower than 4.

A vivid blue sapphires tone would be at 5 for tone and the same for the saturation of the color, with say a cornflower blue sapphire would have a grade of B for pure blue 5 for tone and 4 for saturation carrying a GIA gemstone grade of B 5/4.

I have added a link below which helps explain this in more detail for all gemstone colors

                                                 Vivid blue = GIA B 5/5                                                 

 Cornflower blue = GIA B 5/4

GIA gemstone color grade:

https://www.sapphirerings.org/color-system

 

Clarity on all gemstones are graded from eye clean to severally included, most gemstones are graded by the eye to give the clarity grade the company we use for our appraisal GIA gemologist grades our sapphires under x 10 magnification to give the clarity for that sapphire. with sapphires, there are both positive inclusions and negative inclusions. Silks are regarded as a positive inclusion and will create a higher value for that one stone, with cornflower blue sapphires the natural crystal make up creates the stronger saturation almost as strong as the tone which gives off the wonderful hue.

I have added a second link below which is always worth looking at when buying either a sapphire ring or a loose natural sapphire.

What you should look for in a loose sapphire & custom sapphire ring:

https://www.sapphirerings.org/top-10-tips-on-buying-a-sapphire-ring

buy-gia-certified-sapphire-rings-in-united-state

I highly recommend looking at the views which show the sapphire of clean honest light and I am always happy to pull any loose sapphire or sapphire ring for a video at different angles as I do think his can help.

I hope some of this information will help, we do have a gemologist here you can talk with as well as David who can explain the many different factors to consider when buying a loose sapphire or a sapphire ring. We are open 7 days a week and always happy to help and please contact me at any time with any questions you might have on what to consider when choosing a natural loose sapphire or custom sapphire ring.

Kind regards

Dixie. 727 797 0007.

Leave a Reply