The official GemStone IV encyclopedia.
Sapphires, a common gem found in the treasure system, come in many varieties. Most notably are the different color sapphires, such as the yellow sapphire, pink sapphire, and blue sapphire. All sapphires are a crystalline form of aluminum oxide, also called corundum.[1]
Sapphires are the food source of sand elementals, which were a prize from a quest related to the Wavedancer event.
Sapphires are very similar to ruby, both being corundum. The only difference is the impurity, chromium, gives a ruby its color, where all other forms of corundum are called sapphires. However, this minor difference in the two stones causes a remarkable difference in the magical properties of the stones. Sapphires are, therefore, attuend to the element of air, while rubies are attuned to the element of earth.[2]
Sapphires are used in divinations to locate lost possessions, and many giantmen clans claim that wearing a ruby will sharpen your eye in bargains, thus protecting the wearer from fraud.
Green Sapphires are associated with the lesser spirit Aeia and are often carried by her followers or left at her altars as an offering.
List of Sapphires
- Note: The rarities listed are estimates and depend on the status of the treasure system in the area hunted. Average values listed are approximations and are generally taken from the sell values of a character selling gems with no trading bonus. See the Trading article for more information on variations of sell values.
| Rarity: |
Rare
|
| Average value: |
2500 - 3000
|
| Location: |
Any
|
a blue sapphire
| Description: Shaped like a double pyramid, a blue sapphire has a dull, pearly finish. The crystal has a deep royal blue coloration and a subtle cloudiness that makes it appear almost opalescent.[3]
|
a blue shimmarglin sapphire
| Description: Though it has not been properly faceted, the small jewel still collects light at its core and refracts it to the surface in a beautifully sparkling starburst. In hue, it is the same rich, serene blue with a tiny hint of green as a tropical lagoon. There is no play of colors in the stone's center, but the surface shimmers with iridescence similar to that of a butterfly's wing.
|
| Rarity: |
Common
|
| Average value: |
5-15
|
| Location: |
Any
|
a clear sapphire
| Description: Shaped like a double pyramid, a clear sapphire has a dull, pearly finish. The crystal has no color to it at all and a subtle cloudiness that makes it appear almost opalescent.
|
| Rarity: |
Very rare
|
| Average value: |
Unknown
|
| Location: |
Teras Isle
|
a dragonsbreath sapphire
| Description: A clear, pale blue gem, a dragonsbreath sapphire could easily be the cold breath of a dragon, solidified into stone. Thin tendrils of white mist swirled through the gem leave foggy trails in the ice blue crystal. Though glasslike, its edges are not sharp or pointed, but rather rounded as if the gem has been subjected to an intense scouring process.
|
| Rarity: |
Very rare
|
| Average value: |
2500-3000
|
| Location: |
Elven Nations
|
a dragonseye sapphire
| Description: The outer edges of the sapphire are the same deep blue color as lapis, and, like lapis, flecks of gold tinge the stone. Unlike lapis, the gem permits light to pervade its depths, but, as light trespasses toward the center, less and less reflects back, creating a slow shift from the rich lapis hue through the blues of twilight to the darkness of a midnight sky. Dark crimson fire gleams in the heart of the stone, surrounded by rays of amber threading weakly through the darkest blue imaginable.
|
| Rarity: |
Very rare
|
| Average value: |
4000-5000
|
| Location: |
Solhaven
|
a deep blue mermaid's-tear sapphire
| Description: Generally oval in shape from the constant buffeting of the ocean, a deep blue mermaid's-tear sapphire carries the coloration of the ocean's depths. Seafarers' tales claim the gems are deposited near shore as the result of mermaids lamenting the loss of their loved ones to landfaring predators. The sapphire is closer to opaque than to transparent, and the entire gem glows brilliantly when struck by the light.
|
| Rarity: |
Unknown
|
| Average value: |
Unknown
|
| Location: |
Unknown
|
a dwarf-cut sapphire
| Description: Though it has not been properly faceted, the small jewel still collects light at its core and refracts it to the surface in a beautifully sparkling starburst. In hue, it is the same rich, serene blue with a tiny hint of green as a tropical lagoon. There is no play of colors in the stone's center, but the surface shimmers with iridescence similar to that of a butterfly's wing.
|
| Rarity: |
Common
|
| Average value: |
800-1000
|
| Location: |
Any
|
a green sapphire
| Description: Shaped like a double pyramid, a green sapphire has a dull, pearly finish. The crystal has a rich green hue and a subtle cloudiness that makes it appear almost opalescent.
|
a lavender shimmarglin sapphire
| Description: Though it has not been properly faceted, the small purple gem still collects light at its core and refracts it to the surface in a beautifully sparkling starburst. There is no play of colors in the stone's center, but the surface shimmers with iridescence similar to that of a butterfly's wing.
|
a pale water sapphire
| Description: A jagged crack runs across one corner of the small, square-cut gem. At one angle, the gem appears to be pale violet-blue, while, at another, it looks honey yellow, and, from a third, it is as clear as water. If not for its peculiar habit of shifting hue, it would be as unimpressive as a piece of well-cut but ill-treated quartz.
|
| Rarity: |
Uncommon
|
| Average value: |
1500-2000
|
| Location: |
Any
|
a pink sapphire
| Description: Shaped like a double pyramid, a pink sapphire has a dull, pearly finish. The crystal has an intensely pink coloration and a subtle cloudiness that makes it appear almost opalescent.
|
| Rarity: |
Common
|
| Average value: |
1200
|
| Location: |
Any
|
a star sapphire
| Description: Shaped like a double pyramid, a star sapphire has a dull, pearly finish. The crystal has a very faint blue coloration and a subtle cloudiness that makes it appear almost opalescent. When held in just the right way, a many-pointed star can be seen in the depths of the sapphire.
|
Star sapphires display a property called asterism. They may have either six or twelve rays, the twelve ray versions being significantly less common. In order to display asterance, a gemstone must be cut en cabochon, meaning the stone is not facetted (note that the description of a star sapphire states that the gem is shaped like a double pyramid, meaning that it is facetted. See Cabochon on Wikipedia). The effect is caused by tiny needles of rutile, or titanium oxide. Star sapphires that display twelve rays are called double-star sapphires.
| Rarity: |
Common
|
| Average value: |
800-1000
|
| Location: |
Any
|
a violet sapphire
| Description: Shaped like a double pyramid, a violet sapphire has a dull, pearly finish. The crystal has a vibrant reddish-blue tint and a subtle cloudiness that makes it appear almost opalescent.
|
| Rarity: |
Common
|
| Average value: |
800-1000
|
| Location: |
Any
|
a yellow sapphire
| Description: Shaped like a double pyramid, a yellow sapphire has a dull, pearly finish. The crystal has a pale golden yellow coloration and a subtle cloudiness that makes it appear almost opalescent.
|
References