It is widely thought that yellow sapphires provide mental peace. Throughout history, the yellow gemstone has been thought to balance emotions of the wearer – reducing stress and anxiety and replenishing energy levels and happiness. It is additionally believed that yellow sapphires bestow knowledge and good fortune upon the wearer, especially financial prosperity. Yellow sapphires are associated with sun signs such as Sagittarius and Pisces and thought to bring better fortune to the wearer if they are born in these star signs.

A physical benefit is the stone is very durable, making it appropriate to be worn every day. Rated 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, just after diamonds, the resilience and durability of this gemstone is certainly a benefit.

Yellow sapphires can be worn in many ways, whether it is set into a necklace, bracelet or ring. There is no right or wrong way to wear a yellow sapphire, however, in traditional Indian cultures the gemstone is thought to bring prosperity if worn on the index finger of the right hand, or in some cases on the left ring finger for women, making it an excellent choice for an engagement ring. This is due to the association between yellow sapphires and the planet Jupiter; in Vedic astrology, the gem is described as being closely connected with Jupiter and the most benevolent of its spiritual virtues. In palmistry terms, it is thought that the index finger is ruled by the planet Jupiter, making this the most appropriate finger to wear Jupiter’s yellow sapphire on.

Yellow sapphires are thought to originate from Sri Lanka, but can also be found in mines in Burma, Thailand and Australia. You will often see sapphires from Sri Lanka named ‘Ceylon sapphires’, after the country’s previous name Ceylon, which was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Additionally known as Pukhraj, yellow sapphires are part of the corundum mineral, as are rubies.

In ancient time, before gemmology, only blue sapphires were identified as corundum and yellow sapphires were called ‘oriental topaz’, a likening it’s yellow hue to the similarly coloured gemstone, right up until the 19th century. In Hindi, the yellow sapphire is known as ‘pukhraj’ or the ‘pukhraj stone’ , which can be traced back for centuries.