Blue Sapphire from Thailand
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Name, Origin and Meaning Of Sapphire
The word "sapphire" comes from the Greek word sappheiros or sapphirus, which is derived from the Hebrew sappir. However, according to Pliny's Natural History, while the stone referred to as sapphirus was blue, it was not transparent and, as he noted in more than one instance, was speckled with gold, leading scholars to believe that it was lapis lazuli instead of sapphire. In other ancient texts, the word cyanus appears to refer to the stone we now know as sapphire, from the Greek root word cyan, meaning "blue."
History
Sapphire has a long and storied history that has no clear beginning. Highlights include mentions of it in the Bible as well as in ancient scholarly texts like Pliny's Natural History. Sapphire has been prized for thousands of years not only for its beauty but also for its supposed powers, usually related to eyes or vision, thanks to sapphire's calming blue hues. To wit: An oval blue sapphire set in a gold ring was among the possessions of France's King Charles V during the 14th century, apparently used to touch and soothe the eyes, and clergymen in the Middle Ages wore rings set with blue sapphires prized for their "heavenly" blue color.
Sapphire began writing itself a more factual history when 18th-century gemologists began using the term "corundum" to describe blue stones of a particular hardness. While still not exact, it was a step in the right direction and a big improvement over the days when every blue stone was called sapphire. Since then, sapphire's history has been closely tied to the Kashmir region of Pakistan and India, the source of the world's finest, most prized sapphires, both then and now.
Kanchanaburi Sapphire (Thailand)
The sleepy province of Kanchanaburi, renowned for the bridge over the River Kwai, rests among the jungle valleys of western Thailand. Kanchanaburi's Bo Ploi Sapphire mines were discovered in 1918 and today remain one of world's premier sources of Blue Sapphires. The Sapphires of Bo Ploi are mined from alluvial deposits spread over 1.2 square miles. The miners of Bo Ploi must unearth over 50 tons of alluvial soil to extract just 1 carat of Sapphire crystals. Sapphires have been heavily mined from the Bo Ploi mines in the last ten years and are approaching depletion. This increasing rarity makes these Sapphires a must for any jewelry collection.
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