Fancy colored Sapphire belongs to the corundum gemstone family as well as ruby.
Corundum of gemstone quality of all colors except red are called sapphire, only red varieties are called rubies, all other colors, including pink, green, orange, purple and white sapphire, are referred to as fancy Sapphires.The various colors of sapphire are qualified by description,e.g., green sapphire or yellow sapphire. Colorless Sapphire is called Leuko-sapphire (Greek-white), pinkish orange sapphire Padparadscha (Sinhalese for “Lotus Flower”).There is no definite demarcation between ruby and sapphire.Light red, pink , or violet corundums are usually called sapphires, as in this way they have individual values in comparison with other colors.If they were grouped as rubies, they would be stones of inferior color.
The Moh’s hardness is 9,the hardest mineral after diamond.
Today important fancy sapphire deposits are in Burma (Myanmar),Sri Lanka,Thailand ,Tansania , Madagascar.
Sapphire is the birthstone of July.