ORIGIN
Central Queensland, Australia

DIMENSIONS
6mm x 4mm diameter x 2.2mm deep

CARAT WEIGHT
0.60ct

CUT
Octagonal step cut

COLOUR
Good blue

TREATMENT
None

COMMENTS A pretty blue sapphire that faces up bright and is well cut. It has not been treated in any way. This shape is easily set into a variety of designs, and could be incorporated into a simple stacker ring or pendant.

Commercial quantities of sapphire have been mined for more than 100 years in numerous locations situated along the Great Dividing Range in Eastern Australia, from Tasmania to North Queensland. Major commercial deposits occur in the New England District in northern NSW – Inverell and Glen Innes – and the Central Queensland Gemfields – Anakie, Sapphire, Rubyvale and The Willows, as well as Lava Plains in North Queensland. Besides professional operations, there are many part-time artisanal hand miners and hobby fossickers on the Gemfields.

DURABILITY Sapphire’s high hardness – 9 on Mohs scale – and its excellent durability render it ideal for most types of jewellery settings.