Sapphirine Value, Price, and Jewelry Information

An overview on Sapphirine Jewelry and Gemstones. Covers details and essential information on the physical properties and characteristics of Sapphirine gems.

Sapphirine Value

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Sapphirine Value via Gem Price Guide

Faceted	.5 to 1 carat	1 to 5 carats
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Sapphirine Information

Data	Value
Name	Sapphirine
Crystallography	Monoclinic or triclinc; crystals tabular; usually granular or as disseminated grains.
Colors	Pale blue, bluish gray, greenish gray, green; depth of blue color varies with Fe. Also, (rarely) purplish pink.
Luster	Vitreous.
Fracture	Uneven to subconchoidal.
Hardness	7.5.
Specific Gravity	3.4-3.5.
Birefringence	0.006.
Cleavage	Indistinct.
Stone Sizes	Facetable sapphirine is exceedingly rare, even though the material occurs in transparent grains. GIA noted a very unusual purplish-pink stone of 1.54 cts, oval, with included mica “book” (phlogopite), from Sri Lanka; R.l. =1.701—1.707; β= 1.705; birefringence = 0.006; S.G.: 3.51. The refractive indices of sapphirine are close to idocrase, but the former is biaxial. Other such gems exist but have been misidentified.
Luminescence	None reported.
Spectral	Not diagnostic.
Formula	Mg_3,5Al₉Si_4,5O₂₀(+Fe). Complex substitution of Mg/Al/Si with charge balancing. Two polytypes: Sapphirine-2M = (Mg,Al)₈(Al,Si)₆O₂₀; monoclinic. Sapphirine-Te=(Mg,Al )₈(Al,Si)₆O₂₀; triclinic.
Pleochroism	Distinct: X = pinkish buff; yellowish; pale smoky brown; colorless: Y=sky blue: sapphire blue: greenish blue; Z=dark sky blue; sapphire blue.

Optics: a =1.714-1.716; β= 1.719-1.721; γ= 1.720-1.723.

Biaxial (—).

Occurrence: In mineral veins or cavities in eruptive igneous rocks.

Milford, Utah; Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan; Lake Superior, Minnesota.

Canada; Scotland; England: Sweden; Czechoslovakia;

Japan; South Africa; Greenland; Madagascar: Italy: Sri Lanka.

Name: In allusion to the (sapphire blue) color.

by Dr. Joel Arem

Sapphirine Value, Price, and Jewelry Information