Sapphire. A variety of native corundum or aluminum sesquioxide. as the name of a gem the term is restricted to the transparent varieties of blue, pink, yellow, and other colors. The best specimens of the blue variety are nearly as valuable as the diamond. The sapphire is next to the diamond in hardness.

---

“Where the grace and love of God is shed into the soul, all will follow.”
–Richard Sibbes, Description of Christ