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
enhancements
Man 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#starsapphire
http://sowle.com/about_star_sapphire_page.htm
All Rights Reserved.