Sapphire is often considered to be synonymous with the color blue. However, sapphire is also found in every other color of the rainbow except for red, which is called ruby. The other colors of sapphire can be just as beautiful and rare, or even rarer than blue, but they are usually less expensive. Yellow, orange, green, lavender, purple and other pastel shades can all be found in the wide range of fancy sapphire colors.Until the advent of modern gemology, no one realized that ruby and sapphire were actually the same gem mineral. When the knowledge became widespread people decided to call all gemstones of the mineral corundum either sapphire, or if red, ruby. But pink is really just light shade of red so we have a modern dilemma. Is pink corundum ruby or sapphire ?The International Colored Gemstone Association has passed a resolution that the light shades of the red hue should be included in the category ruby since it was too difficult to legislate where red ended and pink began. Historically, pink corundum from Burma was categorized as ruby. In practice today, pink shades are now known either as pink ruby or pink sapphire.The most valuable fancy sapphire is a orange-pink or pinkish-orange variety known as "padparadscha" and named after the lotus blossom. Padparadscha sapphires are very rare and the exact definition has always been a matter of debate. Different dealers and different laboratories around the world disagree on the exact color described by this term. Some dealers even argue that the term should not be limited to the pastel shades of Sri Lankan sapphires but should also include the more fiery shades of reddish-orange from the Umba Valley in Tanzania. Padparadscha sapphires sell at a premium, nearing the price for fine rubies. Although the exact description is debated, the beauty and rarity of these rare gemstones is not, with their delicately blended shades of fresh salmon and sunsets. Other very popular shades of fancy sapphires are yellows, bright oranges, lavender and purples, bluish and yellowish green color.Fancy yellow sapphire is probably the best known and most popular variety worldwide. Unheated and loupe clean stones are sought after for their Vedic Hindu significance where as the richer orangey shades are prized in Asia for their or cognac likeness. Generally, the more clear and vivid the color, the more valuable the fancy sapphire. If the color is in the pastel range, the clarity should be good. In lighter tones inclusions tend to be more noticeable and the trade usually prefers gemstones to be cleaner with fewer visible inclusions. In a lighter colored gemstone, the cut is also more important. It should reflect light back evenly across the face of the stone, making it lively and brilliant. With darker and more intense colors, the cut is not as critical because the color creates its own impact.Whatever fancy colored sapphires you choose, you will certainly find a beautiful, durable and desirable gem worthy of wearing in fine jewelry. As supplies dwindle and demand increases your fancy colored sapphire will appreciate in both value and desirability.

Sapphire is often considered to be synonymous with the color blue. However, sapphire is also found in every other color of the rainbow except for red, which is called ruby. The other colors of sapphire can be just as beautiful and rare, or even rarer than blue, but they are usually less expensive. Yellow, orange, green, lavender, purple and other pastel shades can all be found in the wide range of fancy sapphire colors.Until the advent of modern gemology, no one realized that ruby and sapphire were actually the same gem mineral. When the knowledge became widespread people decided to call all gemstones of the mineral corundum either sapphire, or if red, ruby. But pink is really just light shade of red so we have a modern dilemma. Is pink corundum ruby or sapphire ?The International Colored Gemstone Association has passed a resolution that the light shades of the red hue should be included in the category ruby since it was too difficult to legislate where red ended and pink began. Historically, pink corundum from Burma was categorized as ruby. In practice today, pink shades are now known either as pink ruby or pink sapphire.The most valuable fancy sapphire is a orange-pink or pinkish-orange variety known as "padparadscha" and named after the lotus blossom. Padparadscha sapphires are very rare and the exact definition has always been a matter of debate. Different dealers and different laboratories around the world disagree on the exact color described by this term. Some dealers even argue that the term should not be limited to the pastel shades of Sri Lankan sapphires but should also include the more fiery shades of reddish-orange from the Umba Valley in Tanzania. Padparadscha sapphires sell at a premium, nearing the price for fine rubies. Although the exact description is debated, the beauty and rarity of these rare gemstones is not, with their delicately blended shades of fresh salmon and sunsets. Other very popular shades of fancy sapphires are yellows, bright oranges, lavender and purples, bluish and yellowish green color.Fancy yellow sapphire is probably the best known and most popular variety worldwide. Unheated and loupe clean stones are sought after for their Vedic Hindu significance where as the richer orangey shades are prized in Asia for their or cognac likeness. Generally, the more clear and vivid the color, the more valuable the fancy sapphire. If the color is in the pastel range, the clarity should be good. In lighter tones inclusions tend to be more noticeable and the trade usually prefers gemstones to be cleaner with fewer visible inclusions. In a lighter colored gemstone, the cut is also more important. It should reflect light back evenly across the face of the stone, making it lively and brilliant. With darker and more intense colors, the cut is not as critical because the color creates its own impact.Whatever fancy colored sapphires you choose, you will certainly find a beautiful, durable and desirable gem worthy of wearing in fine jewelry. As supplies dwindle and demand increases your fancy colored sapphire will appreciate in both value and desirability.