Is certification important for sapphires?

The jewelry industry has yet to standardize a consistent grading scale for sapphires. Though there are several testing agencies that provide detailed gem grading reports, they fall short when it comes to classifying sapphires. The reports, which are limited to color-grading, are not as systematic, methodical and detailed as a diamond grading report, and they vary significantly from agency to agency.

Unlike diamonds, where the cut is one of the most important qualities, the "color" of a sapphire plays an important factor in determining its quality and value. Sapphire cuts are personalized for every sapphire, in order to best enhance the unique shape and color of every gemstone, thus making certification difficult.

However, sapphires can and should be certified for origin, to ensure that you know exactly where your sapphire is coming from and in what conditions it was mined, cut, and polished.

All of Brilliant Earth's sapphires are ethically sourced from select mines with fair trade practices in Australia, Sri Lanka and Malawi. Brilliant Earth provides a certificate of origin for every sapphire that verifies the gemstone was ethically mined, cut, and polished.