Out of the BLUE...

Sapphires continue to be one of my very favorite gemstones, mostly because of their beautiful color. Blue is the theme for today, yet, I'll focus it on sapphires. Even the name of the gem has some pizzazz to it!

Personal Background...

I love blue. I love, love, love BLUE. There's nothing better than a beautiful, clear blue sky - or a blue ocean!! When in Miami on an early morning jog, I took this picture (pre-smart phone, mind you... Go Samsung!), and I have this photo blown up and on my office wall! Why I love it?! So much BLUE!

So, a little history...

People (way, way back 'in the day') thought that the space that the planet sat in was in fact sapphire of sorts! I can see why when we look at how beautiful the colors of the sky can be and their match to this gemstone. In many sapphires, you can see flecks of yellow, red, pink - as we do in sunsets. It is also mentioned that blue is preferred over other colors in 50% of the world's population... I'm not alone in loving the blues! And as far as sapphires, you can find them in various places in the world, including: India, Burma, Ceylon, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Brazil and Africa. Yet, the Kashmir sapphires are touted as the most beautiful color. Those who do mine for sapphires are careful to find the gem and try to cut for best color, apparently. Since the hardness factor is just shy of a diamond (super hard), the professional must use special tools and make the ccut just right. For more, click here.

Pics from a real sapphire...

A sapphire in the rough (from Madagascar):

And the highly loved Kashmir sapphire:

The real deal...

So, one famous sapphire engagement ring that we probably all know is that of Kate Middleton. When Prince William proposed to her in Kenya, he used his mother's ring - this 18 karat (worth half a million) sapphire. Gorgeous! This all from a story broken by CBS news here.

Now, I'm not sure how Wikipedia is, but I thought these facts were interesting as well.. Read and click link here, and let me know if you think this is true!
"Some commentators say Diana selected it because it reminds her of her mother's engagement ring. Leslie Field stated: "She (Diana) had obviously already said she would like a sapphire; she had half a dozen rings and she chose this one purely because she liked it." and "Somebody came up with the story that she immediately went for the biggest, but I asked her and she told me it definitely wasn't the biggest, she simply thought it was very beautiful."
After the divorce of Charles and Diana, the possession of the engagement ring came back to the Prince of Wales. It remained at Kensington Palace. After Diana's death occurred, Charles took the mourning Princes William and Harry to the palace to select mementos from their mother's possessions. Prince Harry selected the engagement ring, whereas Prince William selected Diana's £18,000 yellow gold Cartier Tank Francaise watch. They eventually exchanged mementos. Prince William decided to give Middleton the engagement ring in October 2010. After the announcement of the engagement of the couple, the engagement ring has become popular selling copies of it."

A goal... (or two)

Hmm... buy a ring?? Or how about cleaning up my bedroom (which is blue), so my things strewed about will not detract from the beautiful blue walls!! Yes, that's the right goal...

Sapphire-inspired fashion...

Beautiful hues below! Apparently, Valentino was inspired to do this sapphire blue collection through ceramics... I can see the influence here.

And, at your local Macy's...

For us commoners, some sapphire inspired (priced to own) styles, here! I could have found something cheaper, but look at these (fake, but gorgeous) drop earrings for just 100 bucks... Sorry, but that blue and gold combo caught my eye immediately.

Looking up...

I'm doing BSF, which stands for Bible Study Fellowship (click here for more info), and we are studying the life of Moses right now... Of course, we are talking about the way people (pre-Jesus' act on the cross) worshiped God and made themselves clean before Him. (He always finds a way for us to be near Him, though He is so holy and perfect, our sin creates an issue...) A part of this place of worship that God gave instructions for involved blue materials... I thought "Wow, you love blue too, God!" ha ha... I had other deeper realizations through the passage, but I admit I did think that! Here it is is here in the text!

Exodus 26:1

[ The Tabernacle ] “Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by a skilled worker.