Each of the sapphires will be judged based on their appearance. Royal Blue Sapphires as well as Cornflower Sapphires have been rated the highest quality amongst all other blues sapphires. Both are highly desirable and can be very expensive.
Sapphires reflect the colors of the sky from fiery afternoons to velvety nights. Blue sapphires' value is largely determined by color. It's the trace elements of iron and titanium that give it its blue hue. It only takes a little bit of either element to transform a sapphire's colorless nature into a deep blue.
Due to the popularity of sapphire, tradesmen have come up with names that describe the color. Examples include cornflower and royal. However, judging its color is more than what meets the eye.
Apart from hue, it involves tone and saturation as well. The three components of color are: hue; tone; and saturation. Learn the difference between royal and cornflower blue.
Hue, the basic impression given by a particular color. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, purple are the basic hues. Both types of Blue are the same colour, as you can see at first.
Hue can further be divided into its primary and modifier colors. The sapphire's primary color is a blue. Modifier colors, on the other hand, are the second impression. Often, 'slightly' or 'strong' are the main terms to describe the strength of the modifier. If a sapphire is blue but contains a hint or violet, then it will be described as "slightly violetish"-blue.
Cornflower Blue Sapphire s usually have a lighter color of blue, and due to the lighter shade they possess a violet hue. Royal Blue Sapphires come in a vibrant, full-blue tone.
Tone : brightness and darkening of the color. The scale for the tone of a color ranges from 2 to 8 with 2 representing "very light", while 8 represents "very dark".
Cornflower blue sapphires got their name from its color. As shown in the photo (Photo 3) below, the Cornflower Sapphires are scaled along 2-5 on the color tone scale, have a range of light to medium tone. It is calming to the eye. It's impossible to ignore the fact that cornflower sapphires draw admirers to them like bees do to flowers.
The royal blue sapphires, on the other hand are scaled from 6-8 in the color tone range, and have a variety of medium-dark shades to dark ones. The deep, dark shade of blue is almost black. Kashmir sapphires are one of the most precious and rare sapphires. They have a "true" blue tone with a velvety feel that is unmatched by any other location.
Saturation, the intensity of a color. The most important factor in determining the price of a sapphire is its saturation. Low saturation Cornflower Sapphires may appear as a faint violet with hints of blue, whereas low saturated colours can look vibrant violet. For both cornflower and royal blue, saturation should be at least strong to vivid range to be valued as high quality gemstones.
A royal blue sapphire with vibrant blue saturation would be suitable for someone who enjoys a more bold and vibrant style. While cornflower blue sapphires would suit someone who prefers to wear a more soothing design.
The beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Each type of blue has its own beauty. It is important that you choose your ideal color of sapphire based on these 3 criteria, Hue, Tone and Saturation.
The best way to know which colour you best suit you is by looking at a wide selection of sapphires to make a comparison. When choosing a sapphire the light is a key factor. So, observe how different lighting conditions affect the colour of your gemstone.
Ask your jeweller if there is a sapphire certificate. To be able to call a sapphire cornflower blue, or royal-blue, it needs to be certified by an accredited laboratory. The major laboratories, such as Gubelin GIA SSEF adhere to strict guidelines when it comes the use of colour terms in trade. These laboratories produce sapphire reports which describe the colour hue and saturation. Only those sapphires, which meet quality criteria established by the lab, are entitled to use the trade name royal blue.