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Sapphires have been prized gemstones for centuries. Because of their brilliant hues, sapphires have been worn by royals and even included in crown jewels. For example, the imperial crown of Iran’s Pahlavi dynasty, which was the last dynasty to rule the country, includes a twenty carat sapphire. A particular sapphire brooch was prized in the Imperial Russian Court. The brooch consists of a sapphire over 260 carats in size which is surrounded by over 55 carats of diamonds.

While sapphires are beloved for their deep cerulean color, they are also often enjoyed for their color variations. A sapphire can be pink or white, instead of blue. Furthermore, there are some special sapphires that actually change color depending on their lighting. One of the most interesting sapphires, however, is the star sapphire.

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A rare variety of sapphire, known as color changing sapphire, exhibits different colors in different light. In natural light, color changing sapphire is blue, but in artificial light, it is violet. This effect is the same phenomenon seen in Alexandria.Until the last century, all sapphires (excluding blue) were called the same name as a popular gemstone of that color with the prefix "oriental" added to it. For example, green sapphire was known as "oriental emerald". The practice of applying the name of a different gemstone to identify the sapphire was misleading, so these names were virtually abolished. What was once called "oriental emerald" is now called "green sapphire". The same holds true for all other color varieties of sapphire. However, the word "sapphire" in its plain context refers only to blue sapphire, unless a prefix color is specified. Sapphire with a color other than blue is often called a "fancy" in the gem trade.