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A Guide for Star Sapphires
Understanding & Background
A cabochon cut star sapphire characteristically shows a six-rayed star,
caused by needle-like "silk" inclusions that reflect and scatter light.
Star sapphires range from semitransparent to opaque.
They come in the same colors are regular sapphires do with some being very
limited such as:
Green, yellow and orange star sapphires which are very rare.
Black, dark brown, dark blue and general dark colors are common and are not
very expensive up to certain sizes and star qualities.
Please note, that more rays is not a better star, 6 rays (3 intersecting lines)
are the most desirable stars.
Many of the star sapphires out there are regularly heated and oiled during
production in order to improve the color and star effect.
Heating and oiling rubies and sapphires are a common practice today and are
accepted in the industry.
One should watch out for synthetics which are not plastic, but lab grown
star sapphires created by flame fusion. Also as a rule of thumb, "Linde" Star
Sapphires/Rubies are not worth anything but are very nice for decoration and
have a beautiful star which is basically man-made.
Regardless, most stars under 10 carats are not super expensive, however if
you are looking for a fine stone do your research and look for a reputable
certificate.
Thanks,
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