Australian sapphire is popular. Otherwise known as teal sapphire, I know this partly because when I took delivery of stocks of it in calibrated rose cuts and polkis, it pretty much sold out immediately. It’s not hard to understand why – I generally struggle to keep stocks of anything in the teal colour family as it is found in so few stones – tourmaline is the other main stone which displays this colour, and even Santa Maria Aquamarine a bit, and they are all very popular. The Australian sapphire has something extra, however, as it is very often parti-coloured, displaying blues, greens and yellows in the same stone, making it appear pleochroic, shimmering and completely unique. It isn’t pleochroic as such – which is seeing different colours from different angles according to the light properties of the stone, it is actual colour-zoning within the stone. You can see this below in Lindsay Lewis’ Sway Ring Set – the blues and greens across the stone – I also love the orientation of this stone – so unusual.

It’s a fairly recently popular stone, too. When it is dug out of the ground, it can appear dull and rather dark. It is often filled with so much silk that it can appear oily. It requires heat treatment and sometimes bleaching to bring out its beauty, and traditionally it is treated in Thailand, where conrundum treatments have long been a speciality. You can get it in blue shades, but more common is the green-blue, and more rarely it comes in yellows, or greenish yellows. I’m seeing it more and more in jewellery as the market is becoming more used to it, and it makes an economical and unique alternative to bright blue sapphire.

Below right, you can see the silk in the Eden Philippa ring, giving it a lovely velvety appearance, and on the left is Melanie Katsalidis’ Elevate ring, the clean setting showcasing beautifully the the colour variation of this beautiful stone.

I have sold out of most of my calibrated stones, although I do have some 5mm rose cuts – including a lovely yellow and green one – plus some rose cut freefoms (polki). To shop all of my Australian sapphire, click here

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