About Star Sapphires Colours: Dark Blue with White streak. Hardness: 9

Unlike the clear, faceted Sapphire, Star Sapphires are worked into Cabochons to display the reyed Star or Cat's Eye like striation in the center of the gem. This effect is the result of tube-like inclusions within the stone. It forms in hexagonal prisms and may be found in an extremely limited number of locations in the United States, including Montana and North Carolina. The other famous member of the Corundum family is the Ruby.

The word Corundum derives from the Sanskrit Kuruvida, or Ruby.