Loose Colored Sapphires for Sale

What gives sapphire its colors

Sapphire is corundum, which is colorless when pure. Trace elements in the crystal decide the color.

• Chromium gives pink, and in larger amounts red, which is where sapphire becomes ruby.
• Iron gives yellow and green.
• Iron with titanium gives blue.
• Combinations give the colors in between: purple and violet, orange, peach, and the pink-orange of padparadscha.

This is why one mineral covers such a range, and why every color here shares sapphire's hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale.

Which sapphire colors are worth the most

Color value in fancy sapphire follows rarity, not popularity.

• Padparadscha sits at the top. The pink-orange blend is rare, and fine stones can price above top blue sapphire.
• Vivid pink comes next, and the most saturated pinks approach ruby prices.
• Purple, violet and orange sit in the middle.
• Yellow and green give the most size for the money. Large, clean yellow sapphires are far more attainable than blue stones of the same weight.

Within any color, more intense color increases value. Choose the color that appeals to your eye first, then buy the best saturation you can within it.

What to check when buying a fancy color rather than blue

• Laboratory color names matter. Padparadscha is a defined grade, and laboratories draw its boundaries differently. On borderline colors, the report decides what the stone is called and how it is priced.
• Origin premiums are smaller in most fancy colors than in blue, so color and treatment carry more of the price.
• Unheated stones carry a premium in every color. A lot of fancy sapphires are heated to intensify or clean up color. unheated stones are rarer, and they are our buying focus.