These photographs are extreme enlargements made by me under very bright lights with a macro lens so you can observe the gem's clarity, and of course, a magnification of any flaws. Monitors vary so I have little control over the color on your screen only to say these were made for a gamma corrected flat screen monitor with colors as close as possible to the original.

 All gems have been inspected by a qualified gemologist and are guaranteed as natural. At Admiral Cowdisley I am committed to top customer service, and quality material. Email is encouraged with any questions. I will try to respond to email within 24hrs.

SAPPHIRE

The gemstones in the corundum group consist of pure aluminium oxide which crystallised into wonderful gemstones a long time ago as a result of pressure and heat at a great depth. The presence of small amounts of other elements, especially iron and chrome, are responsible for the colouring, turning a crystal that was basically white into a blue, red, yellow, pink or greenish sapphire. However, this does not mean that every corundum is also a sapphire. For centuries there were differences of opinion among the specialists as to which stones deserved to be called sapphires. Finally, it was agreed that the ruby-red ones, coloured by chrome, should be called 'rubies' and all those which were not ruby-red 'sapphires'.

When cutting a sapphire, indeed, the cutter has to muster all his skill, for these gemstones are not only hard. Depending on the angle from which you look at them they also have different colours and intensities of colour. So it is the job of the cutter to orientate the raw crystals in such a way that the colour is brought out to its best advantage.