FL- This is the highest clarity grade a sapphire can have. This means the gemstone is 100% clean to the eye to a trained, experienced gemologist but not necessarily under 10X or higher magnification.
VVS1, VVS2- This grading means the sapphire would be 100% eye clean to an untrained eye but a gemologist might be able to observe very, very tiny inclusions from certain side angles.
VS1, VS2- This means very tiny inclusions would be visible under very close inspection to an untrained eye.
SI1, SI2- Slight visible inclusions upon inspection would be visible to an untrained eye but inclusions are not affecting the brilliance or the color in the sapphires.
I1- These sapphires are highly included where the inclusions hinder the brilliance and color of the sapphire.
GemsNY has the largest* online inventory of sapphires whether heated or unheated (meaning no enhancements at all).
Heated- Among sapphires it is a general practice among the manufacturers to heat the rough in order to enhance the color of the gems. Over 99% of Sapphires used in today's jewelry are heated. This treatment has been there in the industry for a long time and is accepted worldwide since this is a PERMANENT treatment. In fact, this treatment is so common that in the trade if an individual asks for a ruby or sapphire it is understood they want heated.
No Enhancements- Gemstones which are unheated (meaning no enhancements at all) have only traditional process of cutting and polishing applied to them in order to improve the appearance or durability of the gem. Such sapphires are rare and on average are about 15% more expensive than heated sapphires.
As of 02/10/2012
This is the highest color grading for our blue sapphires. Color of these sapphires is as deep of a blue a sapphire can get without turning opaque or being overly colored. Brilliance of these sapphires is also excellent.
Vivid:
Color of these blue sapphires is a shade less of a blue than intense. Such sapphires have extremely rich blue vivid color and are highly sought after.
Royal:
Such blue sapphires have as rich of a color as intense blue but don't have as much brilliance as an intense blue sapphire. Such sapphires are still quite rare and in demand.
Medium:
Such sapphires are very pleasant to the eyes as they are not too dark or too light and have very good brilliance to them. These sapphires generally have 50 to 70% color saturation.
Sky:
Such sapphires are lighter than medium blue sapphires and generally have color saturation of 20-40%. These sapphires have excellent brilliance and exude significant white reflections and also often are referred to as pastel blue sapphires.
Navy:
Sapphires of this color offer a great value as the color of the stones is a pleasant deep blue but have fair to good brilliance.
Midnight:
These sapphires have bluish black color and are opaque.
Vivid :
This is the highest color grading for our pink sapphires. Color of these sapphires is as deep of a pink a sapphire can get without turning opaque or being overly colored. Brilliance of these sapphires is also excellent.
Medium:
Color of these pink sapphires is two shade less of a pink than vivid. Such sapphires have good saturation of pink and are a great value as they are not as expensive as the vivid pink and still offer a good saturation of pink. These sapphires generally have 50 to 70% color saturation.
Baby:
Such sapphires are lighter than medium pink sapphires and generally have color saturation of 20-40%. These sapphires have excellent brilliance.
Soft:
These are very light pink sapphires with color saturation of 15-20%.
Vivid:
This is the highest color grading for our yellow sapphires. Color of these sapphires is as deep of a yellow a sapphire can get without turning opaque or being overly colored. Brilliance of these sapphires is also excellent.
Intense:
Color of these yellow sapphires is a shade less of a yellow than vivid. Such sapphires have extremely rich yellow intense color and are highly sought after.
Yellow:
Having a medium yellow color such sapphires are very pleasant to the eyes as they are not too dark or too light and have very good to excellent brilliance to them. These sapphires generally have 50 to 70% color saturation.
Light:
Such sapphires are lighter than medium yellow sapphires and generally have color saturation of 20-40%. These sapphires have excellent brilliance and exude significant white reflections and also often are referred to as pastel yellow sapphires.
Golden:
These sapphires offer a great combination of golden and yellow colors. They are unique and are in demand.
Vivid:
This is the highest color grading for our purple sapphires. Color of these sapphires is as deep of a purple a sapphire can get without turning opaque or being overly colored. Brilliance of these sapphires is also excellent.
Medium:
Color of these purple sapphires is two shade less of a purple than vivid. Such sapphires have good saturation of purple and are a great value as they are not as expensive as the vivid purple and still offer a good saturation of purple. These sapphires generally have 50 to 70% color saturation.
Light:
Such sapphires are lighter than medium purple sapphires and generally have color saturation of 20-40%. These sapphires have excellent brilliance.
Purplish Blue:
These sapphires offer a great combination of purple and blue colors. They are unique and are in demand.
Snow White:
This is the highest color grading for our white sapphires. These sapphires are absolutely colorless! Meaning they are as pure of a white color as sapphries can get.
White:
These sapphires have nice white color but sometimes can have a very slight tinch of yellow in them. These sapphires offer a great value and are highly sought after due to their reasonablness.