Sapphire
Truth, loyalty and protection
Sapphires are the second hardest gemstone on earth after diamond. The name Sapphire derives from Greek 'sappheiros' meaning blue, yet sapphires come in a wide array of colours including pink, yellow, orange and green. Sapphire is a gem quality variety of the mineral corundum - aluminium oxide which crystallised into gemstones with the presence of small amounts of other elements, especially iron and chrome that are responsible for the colour. A ruby-red sapphire coloured by chrome is actually a Ruby.
In times of antiquity and the Middle Ages, the term sapphire actually referred to lapis lazuli but in the early 19th century, the description and definition of sapphire was changed to what we know today.