All About Neelam Stone

Origin place or source country

Neelam Stone is most commonly found in Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon). It is one of the largest and finest producers of the best quality Neelam. Madagascar is also a significant location where it is found in large numbers. Myanmar, Tanzania, Australia, India, and Montana in the USA are other locations where Neelam stone is mined. The famous Mayur Neelam is found in the Kashmir region of India.

Synthetic, Duplicates, and Copies

Synthetic blue sapphire, tanzanite, natural or synthetic spinel, benitoite, iolite, kyanite, synthetic quartz, glass, doublet, etc.

Physical properties/chemical composition

Nilam stone is made of aluminum oxide (AI2 O3). Its hardness is 9 on the Mohs scale, which means it is one of the hardest stones. The specific gravity (S.G.) ranges between 3.98 and 4, and the refractive index (R.I.) lies between 1.76 to 1.77.

Buying Guide-How to value

Color

A medium-dark blue with a rich tone is the perfect color for this. Kashmir sapphires come in the most attractive color. It is due to their cornflower blue hue. Color zoning is a typical occurrence in natural Neelam stone.

Inclusion

A high-quality Neelam will be free of blemishes. A low-quality would have spots and streaks. It isn’t easy to find a Neelam with no inclusion.

Cut

Generally, Neelam is cut into an oval shape to preserve maximum weight. Other shapes, such as round, cushion, octagonal, and rectangular, are also popular. It also depends on the local cut. Sometimes it is cut into cabochons to highlight the asterism in the gemstone.

Carat Weight

The most relevant factor in Neelam Gem’s price is size. The price grows if the size of the stone increases. Some Neelam is over 15 carats with high colour and clarity grades. These are particularly exotic due to the rarity of big sapphire gems.