Yogo sapphires have an impressive history, from adorning First Ladies to British royalty. Almost all Yogo sapphires are blue, the only other color they are found to have is purple. Yogo sapphires are known for having a natural 'cornflower' blue color without the use of treatments to enhance their appearance, whereas the majority of sapphires around the world are heat-treated to improve their color. This has made Yogo sapphires extremely rare, in addition, less than 10% of rough crystals will yield a finished faceted stone that's one carat or larger. This location has proven to be a challenging site to recover the beautiful gemstones.

Yogo sapphires acquired their name from the source where they are found, at Yogo Gulch in Judith Basin County, Montana. There the nation's leading gemologist at the time pronounced they were 'the finest precious gemstones ever found in the United States.' A year later the stones were officially discovered as sapphires when a local rancher, Jake Hoover, sent a cigar box containing the sapphires to an assay office, which in turn sent them to Tiffany's in New York. When the 'blue pebbles' were originally noticed by gold prospectors they were disregarded until over a decade later when they were recognized as sapphires.

Montana's exclusive Yogo sapphire, known as the finest gemstone in America, has been a Montana treasure for over a hundred years.