Yellow Sapphire and Other Yellow Stones

Yellow Sapphire is one of the most popular astrological stones. Sapphires come in many colors including blue, yellow, pink, green, purple, orange and colorless. Red sapphires are called rubies. Sapphire is the hardest stone after Diamond. It has a mohs hardness of 9 on a scale of 1 to 10.

For astrological purposes, a stone has to be of very good quality. Most books state that it should be free from cracks, inclusions and color zoning. Also, the color has to be natural according to all of the sources, stating that a treated stone will have no effect in the astrological sense.

Yellow sapphire is often produced from irradiating colorless sapphire. In this sense the stone is considered treated. To find naturally colored yellow sapphire is possible, but the stones usually cost more. One can expect to pay $500 per carat or more. Considering that a stone will likely need to be at least two carats or more, you are looking to spend thousands of dollars. For this reason many people look for alternative stones.

The astrological books I have read state that by using a substitute stone we are softening the effect a yellow sapphire would have. It is like taking a pill as opposed to having an iv. The process of curring will be longer. However, this is sometimes recommended as you don't always know if the effect will be right or not. By wearing a substitute stone, you can monitor the changes in your life and then decide if you need a yellow sapphire at all.

From what I've seen, the size of a substitute stone needs to be much bigger then the original as their power is much weaker. Some sources name specifics but others state that the size needs to be 11 or 13 carats.

Stones to consider

• Citrine - this is a common gemstone, it is a quartz. It usually is clear of fractures and inclusions. The biggest problem is that it is usually produced by heating Amethyst. There is no way a laboratory can determine the difference between natural color and heated Amethyst so unless you can trust the seller 100% you will never know.
• Golden Topaz - This is also a fairly common gemstone. It is inexpensive, but not as cheap as Citrine, and usually free of fractures and inclusions. Topaz may loose it's color if heated.
• Yellow or Golden Beryl - Beryl comes in many colors. Green beryl is Emerald while Blue is Aquamarine. Though beryl is clear of fractures and inclusions, it is commonly irradiated to give it the yellow color.
  
• Amber - While amber is not a crystal, but it is a gemstone. It comes in beautiful shades of yellow. Again, Amber is heated often so you must ask about treatment.
  

While there are many other options, they are of rare stones which are poor in hardness. This makes them unwearable in most cases. One must always ask the seller about origin of color when buying for astrological purpose. Remember, having a bad quality stone is worse then not having one at all. So don't through your money away on a bad yellow sapphire, you are safer buying a good quality substitute.

Also read "Yellow Diamonds and Alternative Yellow Stones."