Pink Sapphire: Meaning, Colors & Value

Pink Sapphire Colors

From soft blush to vivid hot pink.

Ruby and pink sapphire are the same mineral; the difference is color. When chromium makes corundum red enough, it is called ruby; lighter or pinker stones are pink sapphire. GIA describes pink sapphire as light red to light purple stones outside the ruby range. There is no single numeric cutoff, and different labs draw the line in slightly different places, so a borderline stone can be called pink sapphire by one lab and ruby by another.

The name matters for price: a stone sold as ruby usually costs more. Judge the color you are getting, not the label. More on red corundum in our ruby guide.

Padparadscha is a rare sapphire with a delicate blend of pink and orange, often compared to a lotus blossom or a tropical sunset. The name comes from the Sinhalese word for lotus blossom. Sri Lanka is the classic source, with Madagascar and Tanzania producing some today. Fine, untreated padparadscha is among the most expensive sapphires, and the exact color range that qualifies is debated even among labs.

Most natural pink sapphire is heat-treated to improve and even out its color, a stable, accepted and permanent treatment. Unheated stones, confirmed by a lab report, cost more. Some pink, orange and padparadscha-colored sapphire has been treated by beryllium (lattice) diffusion, which adds color deep into the stone; it must always be disclosed and is valued far below natural color.

We disclose every natural pink sapphire as heat-treated unless a lab report states it is untreated, and every lab-grown pink sapphire as lab-grown, on the product page and in the Transparency Manifest. Our lab-grown sapphire is Swiss Djeva material, cut on German machines.

Two pink stones, very different worlds.

Want pink with diamond sparkle? Lab-grown pink diamonds are an option; see our lab-grown diamond guide.

Madagascar is today’s leading source of pink sapphire, and discoveries in East Africa and Madagascar since the 1990s made fine pinks far more available. Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma) and Tanzania also produce fine stones. Origin can affect price, especially for rare unheated stones, but color and clarity matter most.

Value follows color first: a vivid, even, medium-to-strong pink is worth the most, then clarity, cut and size. Unheated stones with a lab report cost more than heated ones, and padparadscha sits at the top. Lab-grown pink sapphire costs a small fraction of natural. Pink sapphires are rarer than blue in fine qualities, but far more accessible than pink diamonds.

See the live cost of a real pink sapphire piece below.

Pink sapphire is linked with love, compassion and gentle strength, joining sapphire’s traditional meanings of wisdom and loyalty with the warmth of pink. That makes it a meaningful engagement and anniversary stone. As a sapphire, it is a September birthstone and the traditional gift for the 45th wedding anniversary.

Four Ways to Wear Pink Sapphire

Natural or lab-grown, every piece tells you which, with every cost on the Transparency Manifest.

Pink sapphire is very durable and easy to care for. Clean with warm, soapy water and a soft brush. Ultrasonic and steam cleaning are usually safe for heated and lab-grown stones, but avoid them for stones with fractures or fillings. Store it apart from diamonds, which can scratch it.

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