There are many rare gemstones in the world, but where do sapphires rank on the scale of rarity?
Sapphires are much rarer than diamonds, but not as rare as gem-quality emeralds or rubies. However, there are some types of sapphire that are dramatically rare, such as the orange and pink padparadscha sapphire. These outrank even the emerald and the ruby.
Read on to learn more about the availability and rarity of sapphires.
Scale of Scarcity
Often considered the chief driving factor in the high prices of gemstones, rarity is considered with every ranking. If a gemstone is readily available and saturated, it will be worth much less – it’s simple economics.
When it comes to the top gemstones: diamond, sapphire, ruby, and emerald, the scale is fairly clear. While the diamond is probably the most prolific, it’s also the most saturated gemstone, with supplies being available on a consistent basis.
They’re not particularly expensive until you start looking at the diamonds with a unique color. For example, pink and blue diamonds tend to fetch a massive price owing to how rare and beautiful they are.
In 2017, a single pink diamond called The Pink Star sold at auction for an incredible seventy-one million dollars. It was record-breaking, and one of the biggest and most perfect pink diamonds ever to be seen.
Slightly less valuable is the blue diamond, but it still commands a high price. In 2016, The Oppenheimer Blue sold at auction in Geneva for a whopping sixty million dollars.
One of the most famous and iconic blue diamonds is actually a fictional one. The Heart of the Ocean appeared in the movie Titanic and served to further the plot more than a few times.
It was based quite directly on the Hope Diamond, a 45-carat gem with a storied history and enormous value.
However, the coloring of a gemstone doesn’t always drive the cost up, a fact which is particularly true where sapphires are concerned. While you might imagine a deep blue jewel when you picture sapphires, they can come in different colors.
You can actually find sapphires in pink, yellow, green, and purple – among other colors. It’s a particular sapphire called padparadscha that ranks the highest on the sapphire rarity scale.
These gemstones are highly prized for their stunning color and asymmetrical cuts, showing authenticity. They’re primarily found in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and Tanzania, but some experts claim that authentic padparadscha can only originate in Sri Lanka.
The intense durability, high clarity, and sparkling color of a padparadscha aren’t enough to drive the value up, though. While they are expensive, they don’t command as high a price as the traditional blue sapphires.
That’s a fact that you might question, considering the blue sapphires aren’t anywhere near as rare.
Sapphires Stealing the Show
When it comes to show-stealing sapphires, there are more than a few examples. At the top of the table is the Star of India, a golf-ball-sized, gem-quality sapphire that weighs almost six-hundred carats.
It’s reported to be at least two billion years old and was discovered over three hundred years ago. It boasts an intensely unique set of inclusions that quite literally have caused a star to appear within the gem.
It’s truly a one-of-a-kind gem and is estimated to be worth around three-hundred million dollars.
Another dramatically expensive and famous sapphire is the Blue Belle of Asia. This stunning and perfectly-cut gem is almost four-hundred carats in weight and set into a white gold and diamond necklace.
It sold at auction in 2014 for an amazing seventeen million dollars, ranked as the fourth-largest cut sapphire in history.
It’s easy to see where the valuable sapphires come from – on every list that ranks the most expensive sapphires in history, they’re always blue. Of all the possible hues, the most common is a deep and dark royal blue.
Although, when examined on a price-per-carat scale, these expensive sapphires don’t actually rank so highly. They’re surpassed by more than a dozen gemstones, all either rarer or more sought-after.
These include fine emeralds ($300,000 per carat), jadeite ($3 million per carat), and blue diamond ($4 million per carat). While they might be dramatically beautiful, they’re not the most expensive jewel on the market.
In fact, in 2020, diamonds.pro estimated that the price-per-carat of sapphire was anything from twenty-five to eleven-thousand dollars per carat.