Natural Star Sapphire and Diamond Ring, Art Deco

Unique Elements
Natural star sapphires like this one are a miracle of nature. The 6 ray star in this lovely blue ring needs to be experienced and enjoyed.

Sapphire Blue sapphire is a variety of corundum, a mineral species that also includes ruby. Sapphires can be blue, violet, green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, multicolored as well as color change, most often going from blue to purple, as well as gray, black, or brown. Blue sapphire can have both green and violet undertones, as well as the more desirable pure blue. Trace elements of iron or titanium cause sapphire’s blue color, with iron resulting in an inky, darker tone than the often vivid blue resulting from titanium. When jewelers refer to sapphire without specifying color, this refers to blue sapphire. Sapphire is the September birthstone and the stone of the 5th and 45th wedding anniversaries.

Asterism Star-like rays in a gem, the phenomenon known as asterism, are caused by inclusions of fine needles of rutile, known as silk. Natural star sapphires and rubies are highly prized for their ‘stars’ which can be in four, six or twelve rays depending on the inclusions.

Cabochon A cabochon is a gem which has been shaped and polished but not faceted, typically with a domed top and flat bottom. Cabochons are often cut for opaque stones, for softer translucent gems as well as to highlight phenomenon such as asterism “star” and chatoyancy “cat’s eye”, as these would not show in faceted stones. The 'sugarloaf' cabochon cut features a 4-sided pyramid shape.

Shield Cut Shield cut diamonds, with their triangular shape with curved shoulders like shields used in battle, are are often set as side stones in rings where their broader end sits next to the center stone and the point of the shield runs down the side, or shank, of the band of the ring.

Single Cut Single cut diamonds, also called melee, are round brilliant cuts that feature fewer than the standard number of facets, typically 16-18 facets instead of the standard 57 to 58. Diamonds of smaller sizes can be cut as single cuts because having fewer facets doesn’t noticeably affect the diamond’s appearance.

Art Deco The name is a shortening of the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industrials Modernes, held in Paris in 1925, used to represent the period from the 1920s to the 1930s. Art Deco jewelry style, in following with the rise of the machine age, emphasizes symmetry and geometry in design, typically with simple, repeated geometric patterns. In additional to natural pearl, the typical stone use in jewelry of this period is diamond, onyx, sapphire, emerald and coral, cut into geometric shapes reflecting advances in cutting. Cartier in France is a leading house of the period, and American houses including Tiffany and Company also produced exceptional pieces during this era.