Pink Sapphire Color

Pink sapphires stun in many different ways from their unique, rare color to their incredible sparkle. You can find gemstones in a range of colors from pastel pink to deep magenta. If you have a particular shade of pink that you love, you can find a pink sapphire to match. Pink sapphires represent love and compassion, so their popularity continues to grow for all types of fine jewelry.

Color

Gemstones colors are typically graded based on three factors: hue, tone, and saturation. Hue refers to the gradation of the color, for example dark or pale, and tone refers to the degree of absorption and reflection of light. For example tones can range from black to clear. Tone helps determine the intensity of color. Lastly, saturation refers to how much of the color of the stone comprises the primary color. Pink sapphires are unique in that they’re available in different shades and they’re all sought after.

The name sapphire comes from the Greek word "sapphirus," which means "blue." As you’re learning here, sapphire gems come in many colors including pink, yellow, orange, green, black, color-change, purple, violet, and light blue. Generally, sapphires other than blue, pink, yellow, green, and orange sapphires are called "natural fancy-color sapphire." Red and pink hues result from traces of chromium, and the greater the concentration, the deeper the color, which makes it a ruby.

Pink sapphires come in all sorts of pink colors. Pink Sapphire can come in all shades of pink, including powder pink, shocking pink, ceylon pink, bubblegum pink, baby blush pink, hot pink, pastel pink and many more. Typically the lighter stones and the darker stones are not as valuable. An extremely rare version of the pink sapphire is a pinkish-orange padparadscha sapphire that comes from Sri Lanka, and its name comes from the Sinahalese word meaning "lotus color."

Hue Tone & Saturation

Hue refers to the color on the color wheel spectrum. Pink sapphires are unique in that you can find hues in all types of pink from lighter baby blush pink to more intense hot pinks. Unlike other stones, like rubies, the hue doesn’t have to match a specific color because pink sapphires come in a variety of pink shades.

Saturation refers to the intensity of the gemstone's color. Highly saturated medium or medium dark pink tones are more rare, so pink sapphires that are too dark or too light are not as valuable.

The hues and saturation of pink sapphire are completely up to personal tastes. Some prefer a lighter pale pink stone because that’s their favorite shade of pink. Another might prefer a hot pink stone. In the past, the most coveted pink sapphire colors were saturated purplish red hues with a medium tone. These could be described as hot pink or bubble-gum pink. These days lighter tones of pink sapphires have become more popular. These pastel, baby pink hues have an airy quality about them that allows them to pair well with rose gold metal.

Opacity

While color is important, pink sapphires’ opacity is important as well. Stones with too many inclusions are hard to see through and are not as valuable. You’ll see several types of inclusions in pink sapphires, and if they’re a lighter shade of pink, the inclusions will be more noticeable. Thin mineral inclusions called needles are common in pink sapphires. Other types of inclusions include mineral crystals, color zoning, and color banding.

Treatment

Pink sapphires can be treated to improve their color and clarity, and heat treatment is the most common type. This can improve the quality and consistency of the color. For example, heating a pink sapphire can remove the blue tint so the pink is more pure. The color of a heat-treated pink sapphire remains permanent and will not change or fade unless the gemstone undergoes additional treatment. Because of its permanence, heat treatment on sapphires is accepted by most retailers.

Inclusions can also be improved with heat treatment, but there are additional treatments to fill fractures and inclusions. Some treatments fill fractures or inclusions with glass, and other treatments are newer, such as both titanium and beryllium treatments. Some of these are controversial, so it’s important to be aware of treatment types.