While diamonds have long held their place as the most romanticised gemstone for engagement rings, many modern couples are discovering the timeless appeal of the "Big 3" coloured stones: sapphire, ruby and emerald. These magnificent gems are more than historic symbols of power and commitment. They're dazzling choices that infuse an engagement ring with unique colour, personal meaning and unparalleled tradition.

If you're seeking a ring that stands out whilst promising enduring beauty, look no further than these three precious stones.

The Sapphire

The sapphire is virtually synonymous with the colour blue, stemming from the Greek word "Sappheiros", meaning "blue". Sapphires also encompass a wide array of beautiful other colours, including green, yellow, orange and pink.

Throughout history, sapphires have been treasured as regal gems, frequently worn by royalty for good fortune. Sapphires represent heaven's blessing and protection, wisdom and devotion. For centuries, this stone has featured in engagement rings, notably adorning British royalty.

The most sought-after shade of vivid blue, is known as the "Cornflower Blue" . Other distinctive sapphire colours include the "Padparadscha" , meaning "Lotus Flower", featuring a pinkish-orange colour, and the colourless sapphire, termed "Leuko-Sapphire".

Cornflower Blue Sapphires originally come from Kashmir, India, however, these deposits are thought to be largely diminished, with some of these sapphires coming from Myanmar, despite being sold as "Kashmir". Nevertheless, Myanmar's sapphires very high-quality and is known for also having star sapphires.

Padparadscha sapphires originate from Sri Lanka. Other Sri Lankan sapphires are typically light blue, with tinges of purple. Thailand's deposits are typically a deep blue, with a tinge of green.

The Australian Sapphire

Australian sapphire deposits date back to 1870. Some Australian sapphires can be "inky" to almost black when viewed under artificial/incandescent lighting, which is typically considered more modest in quality. Conversely, high quality Australian sapphires include those exhibiting vivid green or yellow colouring, or blue sapphires found in New South Wales since the early 1900s. Black star sapphires have also been found in Queensland.

Sapphire Properties

Property	Description
Mineral	Corundum
Mohs Hardness	9
Dispersion	0.018 The dispersion effect is generally masked in colourful gemstones, such as the sapphire.
Refractive Index	1.762 - 1.788 With a moderate level of refractive index, the sapphire has a glassy sheen, known as a "vitreous" lustre.
Colour	Blue of various shades and intensities, colourless, pink, orange, yellow, green, purple, black.
Location	Significant deposits in India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Australia, and Thailand.

Durability for Daily Wear

Along with rubies, sapphires are the most beloved coloured stones for engagement rings. They're the hardest natural gemstone after diamond. Their exceptional hardness, toughness and resistance to chemicals make them beautifully suited to jewellery designed for everyday wear.

Caring for Your Sapphire

A significant advantage of sapphire is that conventional heat treatment (a widely accepted process that permanently enhances colour) is both common and durable. Generally, sapphires that are well set and don't have significant fractures can be safely cleaned using professional methods such as ultrasonic cleaners and steam cleaners.

Be On The Lookout

Heat treatment is a widely accepted practice that enhances a sapphire's colour. Since treated sapphires typically cost less than untreated stones, understanding your stone's treatment status ensures you're making an informed purchase.

Assembled stones, particularly sapphire doublets, may use cheaper materials, such as combining glass and garnet, or two sapphires cemented together. Star sapphires can also be imitated by engraving a star on the back of glass.

The Ruby

The ruby represents the red-hued counterpart of the Corundum family (the sapphire representing the blue counterpart), with "Ruby" referring to the scarlet shade from the latin word, "Rubeus".

Historically revered, in ancient India, the ruby was crowned the "King of Gems". Rubies represent the sun and command attention with their fiery, saturated colour.

The distribution of colour within a ruby is often uneven, resulting in stripes or spots. In artificial/ incandescent lighting, rubies are known to exhibit a radiating effect, enhancing the red hue of the gemstone.

The most sought-after ruby colour is known as "Pigeon's Blood" , a pure red colour with a hint of blue, originating from Myanmar. Thailand's rubies often have a brown or purple tint to them, and Sri Lanka's rubies often have a light red to raspberry-red colour.

Ruby Properties

Property	Description
Mineral	Corundum
Mohs Hardness	9
Dispersion	0.018 The dispersion effect is generally masked in colourful gemstones, such as the ruby.
Refractive Index	1.762 - 1.788 With a moderate level of refractive index, the ruby has a glassy sheen, known as a "vitreous" lustre.
Colour	Red of various shades and intensities.
Location	Significant deposits in Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

Durability for Daily Wear

Like their sapphire counterparts, rubies boast exceptional Mohs hardness and excellent toughness, making them extremely resistant to scratches and abrasions. This resilience means that a ruby engagement ring is beautifully suited to withstand the test of time and daily wear.

Caring for Your Ruby

Most rubies available today have undergone heat treatment to enhance their colour, a practice that's widely accepted by the trade because it results in permanent improvement of the entire stone. However, special care should be taken with rubies containing fillings (such as glass residues from certain treatments), which may be fragile and should avoid ultrasonic or steam cleaners.

Be On The Lookout

Heat treatment is a widely accepted practice that enhances a ruby's colour. Since treated rubies typically cost less than untreated stones, understanding your stone's treatment status ensures you're making an informed purchase.

Assembled stones, particularly ruby doublets, may use cheaper materials, such as combining glass and garnet, or combined stones of natural sapphire and synthetic ruby.

Other red gemstones sometimes have mistaken or misleading names, such as "Balas Ruby" (Spinel), "Cape Ruby", "Arizona Ruby", "Californian Ruby", "Montana Ruby", or "Adelaide Ruby" (Garnet), "Siberian Ruby" (Tourmaline), "American Ruby" or "Bohemian Ruby" (Rose Quartz), and "Brazilian Ruby" (Topaz).

The Emerald

Within the Beryl species, the emerald is the most precious stone, known for its "Emerald Green" colour. Emeralds commonly have inclusions or fissures, commonly referred to as an emerald's "fingerprint".

Emerald represents the beauty and promise of nature in spring. The ancient Roman scholar Pliny the Elder wrote that gazing at the emerald's intense green refreshes and restores the sight.

In artificial/ incandescent lighting, emeralds are known to exhibit a radiating effect, enhancing the green hue of the gemstone. Emeralds also exhibit definite pleochroism, whereby colours including green, blue-green and yellow-green may be seen when rotating the gemstone.

The best quality emeralds, of a slightly dark, blue-ish green, originate from Colombia, and is known as "Emerald Green" . Emeralds from Brazil are generally lighter than those from Colombia, and are mostly yellow-green in colour, and those from Russia are generally more opaque and also slightly yellow-green.

Emerald Properties

Property	Description
Mineral	Beryl
Mohs Hardness	7.5 - 8
Dispersion	0.014 The dispersion value is relatively low.
Refractive Index	1.565 - 1.602 With a moderate level of refractive index, emerald has a glassy sheen, known as a "vitreous" lustre.
Colour	Varying shades and intensities of green, blue-green, and yellow-green.
Location	Significant deposits in Colombia, Brazil, and Russia.

Durability for Daily Wear

Emerald, whilst still high in durability, requires careful handling because it is brittle and sensitive to pressure, and is often not suitable for daily wear. For this reason, emeralds are sometimes better suited for necklaces or pendants if frequent wear is desired.

Caring for Your Emerald

Due to the prevalence of natural internal fissures, emeralds are routinely treated with fracture filling using substances such as colourless oils, resins or epoxy. This treatment reduces the appearance of fractures. Because of these fillers, special care is required. Emeralds should never be placed in ultrasonic cleaners or exposed to heat, such as hot water for washing dishes, as this can dissolve the filling and potentially damage the stone.

Be On The Lookout

Imitations often come as "Doublets", whereby the gemstone is cemented with emerald-green coloured paste.

Other green gemstones sometimes have mistaken or misleading names, such "African Emerald" (Fluorite) and "Lithia Emerald" (Hiddenite).

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