Sapphirine, when used as an adjective, compares something to the gemstone sapphire, mostly in color. Furthermore, it can also refer to something consisting of sapphire.
A sapphire is normally a blue, transparent gemstone.
As a noun, it refers to either a mineral consisting of magnesium silicate and aluminium, which has typically a blue or green color, or to a blue variety of spinel.
For more information see:
Bibliography:
"sapphire." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. Web. 12 Jan. 2014 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
"Sapphirine: Meaning and Definitions." Infoplease. Person Education, n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. <http://dictionary.infoplease.com/sapphirine>.