Hi
I bought a star sapphire ring from Perry at Living Jewels in Candolim about 3 years ago.

Polly

We saw both star saphires and star rubies at both Chandras and New Era in Candolim. Chandra said that they were both hard to come by New Era said they were readily available. Wide range of quality though be careful!

Thanks for that, I will no doubt be visiting all of them.

Is a star sapphire a certain shaped stone?

Hi, as far as I am aware it is a sapphire that is cut and polished in a way that when light is projected onto the stone, a star appears.

Hi Rach
Star sapphires (and star rubies) are stones that are cut in the cabochon style (rounded tops not faceted as most gemstones are).

As already mentioned, when a light is shone onto the stone, you can see a six-pointed white star. Star sapphires/rubies are judged by the sharpness of the star, the evenness of the rays or "legs" of the star, and the body color of the stone. It is extremely rare to find a star-sapphire/ruby with a sharp star and a bright blue or red body color.

My star ruby is palish pinky-red but has a very well defined star, my star sapphire is more grey in colour than blue, but also has a definite star.

Regards
Polly

That's interesting. I didn't know you could get star rubies. Have seen the star saphires in Sri lanka. They're beautiful and unusual.