Star Sapphires and Pretenders

Rarer than most faceted sapphires, a high quality star sapphire is highly valuable. How do you know you're not getting a fake one? Let's find out.

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[CherrysJubileeJoyfully]

My stepfather was an amateur self gemologist. He passed before he could finish the wedding ring he was making me. He knew everything I loved and was devastated when the setting was too big and he wasn't able to keep working as the cancer advanced.

Typically he got synthetics and as he got older he started getting natural stones. Thanks for helping me see he got me a natural star sapphire (my favorite stone) I am now taking over as the amiture gemologist and I hope to wear that ring compleated someday.

[sunhat]

I saw someone wearing a star sapphire ring and it was so beautiful. I asked permission to touch it and she let me roll the stone around to see the star move around. AMAZING!!!!
The stone was fully round)

[tammiecampbell]

I learned a few things! Thank you! Im a gem hoarder, a jtv junkie, ... I have a little bit of star sapphire, cut and beads too! Love gems and need to find a gem cutter for a 17+ ct salon sapphire I have. Ive got lots of goodies to play with and make jewelry but thats my money maker! Dad was a GIA graduate.

[therunt]

I have a small lab grown saphire and it's really obvious because the star is so sharp, it just isn't as pretty as a softer looking earth mined one. It also is easy to see the curved bands.
Great video!

[Amorelaser]

Great presentation and info, thank you!

[blueclarity]

New to your channel.. you are delightful! Glad to be here.

[KCRXP]

Got ahold of a black star sapphire. Wasnt sold as that, but I noticed it. Not super strong, but definitely there. Natural for sure. Weighs 85 ct!

[gavinalderman]

Thanks a bunch! Was doubting if my research may have led me astray when I purchased a white star sapphire, but this video confirms the stone is indeed the real deal!

[slametmega]

Thank you very much for the knowledge ... It will be very helpful for me as an amateur gem and crystal collector ..

[TheBATSnape]

I like to look for tubing that may exist stacked along the depth/sides of the stone. Light can shine straight through lab created stones. Also the tiny indentation in the center of the back of many fakes which I could even see in this video, a clear indicator. I loved the details you shared. I have quite a few natural catseye and star gemstones. One I got on my own while I was polishing up a rough stone I had in my possession for decades! What a surprise to me! It was just given to me and listed as Onyx back then.

[HelpfulRebelsTV]

New to your channel :-) you had an epic intro!

[austinfreyrikrw]

Hi Peter, just discovered your channel and subscribed right away. Thank you for making these very informative videos. Love your videos and your personality.❤❤❤Too bad I just found out from this video that the star sapphire ring I bought from a famous high-end jewellery store "B**ks" using the savings from my very first job has a synthetic stone! 😭 Guess I don't need to feel bad about selling the ring to recoup the cost of the gold, at least. Can you do a video on 12-ray star sapphires too. I have 3 and I hope they are not synthetics too 😅 (I think they are natural as I can see the partial hexagonal banding in one of them, the visible iridescent silk/needles in all, the 12-ray stars look like one golden 6-ray star superimposed on a fainter white coloured 6-ray star)

[briangilbert]

Peter- here's an idea for a future video, maybe. I'm a "craft jeweler", meaning I'm mostly self-taught, but I love using NATURAL stones. I'd love to hear your opinion on what stones offer the best "bang for your buck, " in other words, which stones are more-or-less affordable, but can still be really pretty. Zircon, maybe? Spessartite? (I've bought a few after watching your video, and I like them a lot, but not many have that bright Fanta orange color... overimaginative seller descriptions, I think) What do you think about Maderia citrine? Thanks for all you've taught me- best, BG

[TomsBackyardWorkshop]

I have a star sapphire that may be synthetic. Best case scenario it is treated. No banding is visible anywhere front or back. Its opaque black to dark blue around the perimiter with a slight silvery blue sheen in the center and a faint star under normal indoor lighting but with a spot light or direct sunlight it is bright blue with a white 6 point star that is almost perfectly centered.

[miriamkatz]

Your video is very informative. Do you know of any good gemstone dealers that sell lab created star sapphires?

[nikhdes]

Thanks Peter; This was another Pearl of Wisdom! I have a request - can you touch upon teal blue sapphires at sometime? Their popularity is growing with each passing day (and so are the Salt and Pepper diamonds!)

[cjization]

I have a black star fire ring and wonder if you can tell me more about what to look for. I am not able to see the back because of the setting. What are the inclusions of a black star fire stone and mine only have 4 rays not six

[rogerhargreaves]

Hey Peter, I was wondering if the ‘Star Sapphire’ was going to do the rounds. Now, it seems there is a lot more to these than meets the eye. I’ve seen some obvious fakes where the Star doesn’t even move over the surface, but it seems now to be more complicated. I own one; I’ve not studied it closely but it’s a cabochon with a really rough back. Surface wise is perfect with a sharp star. I’ll have to get it out and give it a close inspection now. I hope you are well. Thanks for another great share. Rog from Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿.

[beartutor]

My Srilankan friend from a mining family gave me a beautiful large sharp star sapphire. It has a large surface reaching inclusion near the base of the cabochon… should I just cut that off/repolish or just leave it?

[josephhuber]

Happy Halloween Peter, I went as you this year lol. I couldn't grow my beard like yours ofcourse but I did alright. No one knew who I was 🤣🤣