Loose sapphire for sale should be examined under certain parameters before deciding on which one to buy. Despite the money you have, these cannot be bought in bulk. Every loose sapphire for sale should be examined and analyzed before being purchased. Here is a quick guide for you to understand the characteristics of sapphire as laid by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

Color

Measuring color in a sapphire includes the consideration of its tone, hue and saturation. The tone refers to the deepness of the blue color and is used to describe whether it is dark, medium or light. The best sapphires have a medium to medium-dark blue tone. Hue refers to the presence of other colors. Blue sapphires are measured based on the purity of their primary hue and often have purple, violet and green as secondary hues. Fine quality blue sapphires have no more than 15% violet and/or purple hues that contribute to its overall color. Any green hue is not considered to be fine quality. Saturation refers to how well a sapphire has been saturated with blue colors as opposed to brown or gray colors.

Clarity

Depending upon the inclusions and blemishes, the clarity of the sapphire is decided. Lesser the number and sizes of inclusions and blemishes, higher will be the clarity of the sapphire. Higher clarity ultimately results in higher value of the gemstone. There are three grades in clarity. The highest grade does not have any inclusions that can be spotted by the naked eye. The second grade has some small inclusions visible and the third grade has almost all inclusions visible to the naked eye. It is very rare to find a sapphire with no inclusions at all. Therefore, even grade one sapphires are considered extremely precious.

Cut

Just like diamonds, the way a sapphire is cut has a lot of impact on how well it reflects light. A poorly cut sapphire with rough surface and edges will not reflect light properly and will be a poor-quality sapphire. Immaculate workmanship only can result in perfectly carved sapphires that give out that perfect gleam of light. The clearer the cut of the sapphire, the higher will be the value and price of the gemstone.

Carat

It is as simple as in the case of diamonds. Carat is basically the weight of the sapphire. Higher carat will mean higher weight and size. This will be a more expensive sapphire. Carat has nothing to do with the quality of the sapphire individually. However, a higher carat with poor cut is no good. Therefore, the other three elements, i.e. color, clarity and cut are analyzed deeply as the carat remains a constant.