Frequently Asked Questions

Golden Sheen Sapphire is a multicolored new verity of corundum which exhibits the golden sheen. It’s been excavated from Kenya.

Almost all of the Golden Sheen Sapphires available today are not enhanced by any kind of heat or other treatments at all. It is completely natural as the way it created over many millions of years of geological formation. Any simple gemological test good enough to prove it. Being natural sapphire, second hardest crystal on earth and the beauty will never diminish.

Major gemological laboratories in the world have independently tested gold sheen sapphire, and reached similar conditions as a natural unique variety of corundum.
These include some of the most prestigious gemological laboratories and the most respected in the world like,

1. Gemological Institute of America
2. Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand
3. Lotus Gemology
4. Gem Research Swiss lab
5. The Asian Gem Laboratory
6. Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences
7. Tokyo Gem Labs
8. International colored gemstone association

And more. Click here to read more

Gold Sheen Sapphire was discovered by Mr. Tanzim Khan of Genuine Gems and Jewellery Co., Ltd.

This variety excavated from from a single mine in the deepest Kenya near the eastern border of Somalia in 2009. The mine is depleted by 2014.

The name Gold sheen sapphire often called as Golden Sheen Sapphire too. The name is interchangeable. The term “Gold Sheen” was first described by GIA testing laboratory in Bangkok back in 2013.

This variety found more then one color on top of the gold, the stones exhibit sheen of blue, green, gray and pink. Most gems have two to three colors, but a few have even four.

In addition to normal colors, gold sheen sapphire may exhibit the following colors:
Gold – matching the gold color of pure gold, or pyrite
Electrum – the color half way between gold and silver
Bronze – The color half way between gold and copper
Copper – the color of polished copper

Each stone is described by its primary body color, i.e. its predominant color, secondary body color, and other colors present.

Gold sheen sapphires are like any other gemstones. They are both faceted and cabochon. Due to the presence of golden sheen effect lots of stones cabochon and faceted into checkerboard or rose cuts on the front and flat on the back.

Gold Sheen Sapphire exhibits a golden sheen effect and most cabochon cut will display a six rays of star (a phenomenon known as asterism) are long been valued by collectors.

Gold Sheen sapphires are affordable. While a high quality 1 carat round diamond will cost $6,000 or more, a beautiful multicolor gold sheen sapphire can be purchased for less than $450 per carat.

Price depends the quality or grade of each stones. The trade Prince of pieces sold is a more reliable indicator of current market price and there are enough data points now to give a meaningful moving average.

1. Commercial qualities selling from US$7 to US$20 per carat.
2. Good to very good qualities from US$25 to US$60 per carat.
3. Fine to extra fine from US$100 to US$300 per carat.
4. Rare from US$550 to US$10,00 per carat.
5. Exceptional, translucent, and multicolor variety up to US$2,000 per carat.

According to some inevitable traders, exceptional, large, multicolored transparent gems can fetch US$2,000 per carat.

There are four major grades to determine the quality of gold sheen sapphire that accurately reflect its value to buyers.

1. Commercial – Noticeable blemishes that distract from striation and/or compromise the gems structure. Opaque to semi-translucent.
2. Good – Small, but eye visible blemishes otherwise masked by striation that do not compromise structure. Semi-translucent to semi-transparent. Very Good – sub-grade, nearing Fine grade
3. Fine – No eye visible blemishes. Translucent to semi-transparent. Extra fine – sub-grade, nearing Exceptional grade
4. Exceptional – No loupe visible blemishes. Semi-transparent. Click here to read more.

The unique characteristics of gold sheen sapphire continue to catch the fancy of jewelry brands and boutique designers. And here we’ve listed some of the high-end brands that are already using gold sheen sapphire like,

Baer Jewels
Brenda Smith
Cartier
David Yurman
John Hardy
William Travis Designs

And more. All these brands incorporated gold sheen sapphire in their jewelry line and increasing the exposure of Gold Sheen Sapphire.

Golden Sheen Sapphires come from a single source ever found and that mine depleted too. While other types of gemstones are still being mined in quantity, Golden Sheen Sapphire will become increasingly rare over time. Further, the nature of the hematite and ilmenite inclusions make each stone individually unique, like a fingerprint, each stone has its own character and beauty.

Flawless Gold sheen sapphires over 1 carat are rare, and a the pieces over 4 carats are as extremely rarer. The value of gold sheen sapphire vary depending on the size, quality grades of the each individual stones. Almost non of the gold sheen sapphires have been treated to improve the color or clarity.

Some of 18 to 25 tons of gold sheen sapphire roughs were mined in Kenya and brought to Bangkok – Thailand by Mr. Tanzim Khan where he based. The single mine ever found reported deplete by 2019. There are still efforts to mine these stones in the region but found nothing more than junk qualities since most of the deposits were excavated earlier.

Just breath on the stone slowly and deeply. Then check to see how long the stone takes for the fog to evaporate. If the sapphire is real, the fog should disappear very quickly, in about a second or two. This is because sapphires are naturally good at conducting heat.

Any Genuine star sapphires including gold sheen sapphires can be recognized by their three-ray, six-point star design, which are cut into a cabochon. When illuminated with a single light, you will be able to see the star, and it should move across the stone as the way light moves across it.

The fluctuations during the crystal growth combined with their pattern in the corundum matrix, renders every single piece unique as no two stones are exactly the same. Secondly, some of less than 1 to 2% of the total rough production from the depleted mine in Kenya yield such colorful shimmering transparent quality. And that’s exactly what makes gold sheen sapphires increasingly rarer.