What colour is a sapphire?

It is a simple enough question.  The mere mention of the word sapphire brings to mind the colours royal or cornflower blue – like Princess Diana’s famous sapphire ring, now worn by Kate Middleton – The Duchess of Cambridge.  What many people don’t realise is that sapphires come in almost every colour imaginable – blue, green, yellow, purple and pink.

Gary recently received a bespoke order from a client for a pink sapphire ring, with the view to also create a pair of matching earrings and pendant.  We always start these enquiries by finding the perfect gem.  Even after 40 years of experience, Gary was surprised by how challenging finding the ‘perfect matched set’ would prove to be.

Peach, apricot, salmon, coral, purplish pink, cerise, amaranth, fuchsia, watermelon, hot, lolly, dusty, mushroom or baby pink?  Even the names are a challenge! The colour ‘peach’, for example.  Does this refer to the skin colour of the stone fruit, which varies from dark pink to orange, or the inside flesh which is more on the orange side?  And what makes a pink sapphire a ‘Padparadscha’.

See the gallery below for a small insight into the wonderful world of pink sapphires and the sometimes challenging (but always fun) creative process!

Padparascha Sapphires

Gaining popularity at the moment is a very rare and special colour in pink sapphires called Padparadscha.  This is the name given to sapphires that have both pink and orange tones present.  The original Padparadscha sapphires were found in Sri Lanka, however other deposits have been found in Madagascar, Vietnam and Tanzania.  The word Padparadscha  is derived from the Sinhalese word meaning lotus blossom, and the colour of these sapphires has been described as somewhere between a lotus blossom and a sunset.

If you would like to find out more about Padparadscha sapphire or any other sapphires, please feel free to contact us on giulians@old.giulians.com.au or by using the form below.