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| The most well-known color is blue,
but Sapphires are also beautiful in shades of pink, yellow,
and other colors. The most desirable color, if blue, is said
to be cornflower blue - an intense color, neither too light
nor too dark. Sapphire's name was originally linked to the
color blue, and some of the legends surrounding the stone
might actually apply to other blue stones such as Lapis
Lazuli. But fancy colored Sapphires, the other members
of the Corundum family of gemstones, offer a myriad of colors
other than Blue. So take the blues out of September with fancy
color Sapphires such as green , yellow, orange, pink, purple,
violet, brown, black, gray or colorless . The black and gray
varieties are most often seen in star sapphires. |
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The rarest and most valuable
collector fancy sapphire is the padparadscha, which is
Sinhalese for "lotus flower". This gem is occasionally found
in Sri Lanka. A gem padparadscha will range between
$5000-$10,000 per carat. Large padparadscha can exceed these
prices. Some unscrupulous dealers have been selling some of
the new African fancy sapphires as padparadscha. However,
these stones have too much orange-brown to be properly labeled
as padparadscha.
The second most valuable fancy
sapphire is the electric pink. The best of these stones have a
pure vibrant color without violet or purple. What makes these
stones exceptional is an electric intensity and a tone that
pushes it way above a pastel color. Although technically pink
sapphires in America, some cultures, such as the Japanese and
Europeans, buy and sell these stones as "Burma rubies". Gem
pinks sell from $1500-$3000 per carat. Large multi-carat sized
pinks can exceed $4000 per carat—store cost!
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| Yellows and golden sapphires are interesting gems usually
getting their yellow appearance as a result of heat
treatment. Sometimes collectors may find a non-heated
stone. These gems are relatively unknown by "the
public". Top grade yellow Sapphires should look like a
canary diamond-bright, vibrant goldens, and electric orangy
yellows. They should not look pastel. Yellow sapphire is
available for $750-$1500 TK per carat in two to five carat
ranges. Ten carat sized stones can reach $2150 TK per carat. Sapphires are also discovered purple. Some exceptional
purples are found in Africa. They are often described as
intense cherry-orchid purple. Exceptional one carat purples
range from $1000-$1275 TK per carat. Africa also mines a color
change sapphire. They tend to go from a grayish blue in
daylight to a cranberry red in incandescent light. These
stones are hot collector items. Green sapphire is a relatively
abundant stone. The problem is that it usually has black or
gray colors which dramatically reduces its value. These gems
sell below $ 150 TK per carat. Sapphires have superior
durability.
Hardness 9.00 Specific gravity - 3.96 to 4.0
makes it heavier than Diamond. So a 6.5 mm Rd Diamond may
weigh 1.00 carat but a Sapphire of the same 6.5 mm would weigh
closer to 1.40 carats. |
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