Notre anniversaire de mariage

It's 27 years today!  Happy Anniversary to my Partner-who-loves-tea.  There is no traditional form of gift for the 27th anniversary but sculpture is generally accepted as the modern gift.  Instead P-w-l-t got jewellery.  I didn't hear any complaints...

Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide (α-Al2O3). Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, copper, or magnesium can give corundum blue, yellow, purple, orange, or a greenish colour.  Sapphires are remarkably hard - 9 on the Mohs scale (the third hardest mineral, right behind diamond at 10 and moissanite at 9.25) - and  are used in some non-ornamental applications.

Colour in gemstones breaks down into three components: hue, saturation, and tone. Hue is most commonly understood as the "colour" of the gemstone. Saturation refers to the vividness or brightness of the hue, and tone is the lightness to darkness of the hue. Blue sapphire exists in various mixtures of its primary (blue) and secondary hues, various tonal levels (shades) and at various levels of saturation (vividness).

Blue sapphires are evaluated based upon the purity of their primary hue. Purple, violet, and green are the most common secondary hues found in blue sapphires. Violet and purple can contribute to the overall beauty of the colour, while green is considered to be distinctly negative. Blue sapphires with up to 15% violet or purple are generally said to be of fine quality.

 

One of the reasons for a rather more extravagant gift than usual was the fact that I retire officially this month (having been retired on ill health grounds for 20 years).  So my income will drop substantially.  Next year, again, there is no traditional gift for the 28th anniversary but the modern gift is Orchid!  You can get them for £3.99 in Aldi so that will be OK..... 

Love You, P-w-l-t