White Sapphire Engagement Rings

Engagement rings are meant to symbolize the unique love story of a special couple who are not like anyone else---anywhere. So, it makes sense to select an engagement ring that is as personal and unique as the couple. One of the loveliest ways to customize bridal jewelry is by thinking out-of-the-box with more custom-made alternatives for the central stone. This is hardly a new concept to royalty and aristocrats. They are celebrated for their highly personalized engagement rings, most often set with gemstones other than diamonds as the main focal stone.

Fancy Colored Sapphire

Along with that theme of a more personalized engagement ring, may we suggest you take a good look at white sapphire engagement rings. When you think of sapphire, you normally envision a rich blue-hued stone, don’t you? You are correct, but other sapphires are highly sought after too. When a jewelry professional says ‘sapphire’ they always mean a stone with a vividly blue tint. But did you know that natural sapphire is also produced in a veritable rainbow of colorful tints? Those natural gemstones are called ‘fancy color sapphire’ to distinguish them from the popularly-known blue variety. Sapphire in these fancy colors is found in Sir Lanka, Thailand, Madagascar, and other exotic locales around the world. 

Consider White Sapphire

One of the most sophisticated fancy-colored sapphires is those called white sapphire. In actuality, they are colorless—like a diamond. But all sapphire—either traditional blue or fancy colored sapphire boasts some pretty amazing attributes. Sapphire – a member of the corundum family of gemstones is one of the hardest of all minerals. The only stone harder than sapphire is diamond. What this means to jewelry collectors is that sapphire can take a very high polish for extra brilliance. It also means that the stone is exceptionally durable, so you can enjoy years of normal use and it will remain as shiny and sparkling as the day you bought it.

Your white sapphire engagement ring, like a diamond, is a natural stone found in the earth this way. It takes a side-by-side inspection with a diamond to train your eye to detect the difference between white sapphire and a diamond, but it can be done. For instance, a beautifully cut white sapphire (contrasted to diamond) displays a sparkling silvery-white look. A diamond next to it shows more of the stone’s rainbow of colors when it scintillates. That’s because both of these gemstones handle the light differently.

You won’t mistake your white sapphire ring for another colorless gemstone rings however because of its superior sparkle (by way of its hardness) of course. So lesser brilliant colorless stones like white topaz or rock crystal quartz won’t hold a candle to white sapphire’s lively bounce of light. 

Unique Traits of Sapphire

Here’s a bit of curiosity about white (or any) sapphire compared to diamonds. Sapphires are a heavier weight than diamonds. So that means a 1-ct sapphire will be smaller in size than a 1-ct diamond. The good news is that white sapphire is considerably less expensive than the same size diamond. So go ahead---splurge on a large red carpet-worthy white sapphire for your engagement ring. You can afford it easily. And it will impress everyone who sees it. When they ask, is it real? You can quickly reply, Yes, of course, it is!

While all colorless (white) gemstones boast some benefits, white sapphires are a natural gemstone—unlike the other diamond alternatives like Moissanite, or CZ which are created stones. Natural is always enviable.

Since all sapphires, white and otherwise are coveted gems that have been collected for centuries, you’ll be glad to know you’re in good company if you choose white sapphire. Many royal vaults have treasured jewelry items fashioned from white sapphire, and they continue to accumulate them for their collections today.

How to Shop for White Sapphire

Choose white sapphire similarly as you would when shopping for your diamonds. Diamonds are graded by the 4Cs—namely Color, Cut, Clarity, and Carat (size). When it comes to white sapphires, they are also a natural product, so you will see variations in the tones between different stones you look at. You’ll opt for the most colorless (with no slight yellow) when you shop. 

All stones are impacted by their cut. That means the quality of the cut including the polish and symmetry of the stone. So, make a close inspection of those characteristics to make sure yours is cut well.

Clarity is a vital trait when it comes to colorless sapphire. All gemstones have some (slight to obvious) natural inclusions. It’s simply the nature of earth-mined stones. The fewer imperfections you see, the greater will be the value of your white sapphire. Finally, we can enjoy considering the carat size of the white sapphire. Since it costs so much less than diamonds of the same size and shape—go ahead and select a nice size, the bigger the better some say. Of course, get what appeals to you, and what looks good in your setting. 

Many engagement ring shoppers today find white sapphire to be an easy choice for their bridal jewelry. These genuine gems carry none of the ethical concerns that plagued conflict diamonds some years back. So, you can feel good about your purchase. They are a modern option for today’s bride—and that bride might just be you.