Studio Life

1. The word "Sapphire" originates from the Greek word "Sapheiros" meaning blue stone.

2. Sapphire is considered the "Stone of Wisdom" and quite a few virtues are attributed to it: protection from evil and disease, depression and stress relief, as well as aides with achieving concentration and peace of mind. In ancient Rome and Greece the stone had a specific function - to protect its owner from all harm, especially from jealousy.

3. Sapphire is the second most popular stone in the world for engagement rings. The most famous example is the ring Prince Charles gave to Lady Diana in 1981 (which now belongs to the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton).

4. Other notable figures to receive marriage proposals featuring a big shiny sapphire stone ring includes actress Penelope Cruz, model Elizabeth Hurley, and Josephine - the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte! The historic proposal took place in 1796 and the ring, which was sold a year ago at an auction for nearly $1 million , consisted of a drop-shaped sapphire next to a drop-shaped diamond, both set on a simple gold ring.

5. Sapphire is known for its natural color - a deep and mysterious blue. It is considered the queen of blue stones, the stone with the strongest and deepest color in the entire mineral kingdom. In fact, sapphires are found in many other colors as well- yellow, green, orange, pink, brown and even black.

6. The rarest shade of sapphire is pink-orange. The name of this shade is Padparadscha derived from the ancient Hindu (Sanskrit) "padma ranga", meaning Lotus color.

7. Sapphire is one of the four precious stones. The other three are diamonds, rubies and emeralds.

8. Sapphire is a variety of the mineral corundum. In terms of hardness level, it is the world's second hardest mineral, after the diamond of course.

9. Due to their remarkable hardness, sapphires are also used in some industrial applications. For example, the Apple watch screen is made from sapphire that was grown in a lab.