Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum (an aluminum oxide) that comes in many colors ranging from canary yellow to blue , brown, gray, green, orange, pink, purple, and colorless . The only exception is with the color red or dark pink . In this case the gemstone is called a ruby .

The cost of natural sapphires varies depending on their color, clarity, size, cut, and overall quality, as well as their geographic origin. Blue sapphires are evaluated based upon the purity of their primary hue with purple, violet, and green being the most common secondary hues found in blue sapphires. Violet and purple can contribute to the overall beauty of the color, while green is considered to be distinctly negative. Blue sapphires with up to 15% violet or purple are generally said to be of fine quality. Brightness is another important factor to be considered when establishing the quality of a sapphire.

Sapphires also occur in shades of orange and brown, and colorless sapphires are sometimes used as diamond substitutes in jewelry. Yellow sapphires from Sri Lanka can be comparable in value to the finest Mogok sapphires. Pushparaga, also known as "Oriental topaz" has a golden or honey yellow color with brownish secondary hues that resembles actual topazes .

The padparadscha sapphire is the most valuable of the colored sapphires. It is a bright pinkish-orange stone with qualities that are debated even among some jewelers and dealers. It is extremely rare and tends to be found only in Sri Lanka, although padparadscha sapphires have occasionally been found elsewhere. These gems are very valuable with prices per carat that can go higher than the price of high quality diamonds!

Da'Carli Diamond Jewelry has a large selection of jewelry set with high quality sapphires featuring all the available colors. Our rings, bracelets, earrings, and pendants come in a variety of styles from modern to antique with diamond accents and other semi-precious gemstones. All our jewelry is manufactured in the United States of America by talented, skilled, and very experienced jewelers. Every piece that goes out of our doors have to pass a strict quality control. No wonder Da'Carli Diamond Jewelry has received the A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.

The tradition of engagement rings as we currently know it arose in the medieval era, when, in 1215, Pope Innocent III instituted a mandatory waiting period from engagement to marriage . For the first few hundred years in the tradition of engagement rings, only the wealthiest nobles could afford rings set with precious stones, and most engagement rings were simple metal bands .

In the modern days, buying engagement rings with precious stones is no longer a privilege of the nobles. Engagement rings became highly symbolic with many including sets of stones with personal meaning. One popular model features the birth stones of the engaged couple and each of their parents. The Victorian tradition of engagement rings included precious stones whose initials spelled out a message. A common example is when the engagement ring is set with Lapis lazuli, Opal, Vermarine, and Emerald to spell out the word LOVE.

In modern day England and the United States, among other countries, the most common type of engagement ring is a diamond solitaire . This tradition of engagement rings is largely due to an advertising campaign by De Beers in the 1940s. In some countries, such as France, other precious stones are commonly seen in engagement rings . One tradition of engagement rings calls for the ring to be expensive as a symbol of the man's commitment.