September Birthstone

September Birthstone
Sapphire, Lapis.



Sapphire:













Sapphire, the September birthstone, is associated with qualities that are desirable in long term relationships. Read on to know more about the enchanting gemstone, sapphire, and the attributes associated with it.
Sapphires are members of the corundum family of minerals. They exist in nearly every color except red, because red corundum is always called ruby. One of the hardest minerals, sapphires are durable gemstones that have been in demand since ancient times.
Sapphire is of the corundum class of minerals. The presence of trace impurities of iron and titanium is responsible for that beautiful, vibrant, deep blue color. It is an extremely hard and durable gemstone. Sapphires are available in virtually all colors but red. Red Sapphires are known as Rubies. Blue Sapphires are the most valuable, followed by Pink and Padparadscha Sapphires. Padparadscha Sapphires have orange pink or pink orange coloration and rival Blue Sapphires in value.


Lapis:









Lapis is a popular but generally expensive mineral. Well-formed, deep blue crystals are rare and valuable. It is more commonly found massive and combined with other minerals into a rock called Lapis Lazuli, which is an alternate birthstone for the month of September.
Lapis lazuli (often simply called lapis) is mostly lazurite but commonly contains pyrite and calcite and some other minerals. The name means "blue rock" and is always a brilliant blue with violet or greenish tints. The rich blue color is due to the sulfur that is inherent in the structure of lazurite. Small crystals of pyrite are always present in lapis and their brassy yellow color is both attractive and diagnostic in distinguishing lapis from its also blue cousin - sodalite rock, which lacks pyrite. The calcite produces white streaks in the lapis and too much calcite will lower the value of the stone.
Lapis lazuli has been mined for centuries from a locality still in use today in the remote mountain valley called Kokcha, Afghanistan. Europeans even ground down the rock into an expensive powdered pigment for paints called "ultramarine". Today ultramarine is manufactured artificially. Although no longer the only source of lapis, Afghanistan still produces the finest quality material.Top quality lapis lazuli comes from Afghanistan where it has been mined for centuries. It is also found in Siberia, Chile, the U.S., Pakistan, and Canada. The name is derived from the Latin 'lapis' which means stone, and from the Persian word 'lazhward' which means blue rock.