What is the rarest sapphire colour in Sri Lanka?

The rarest and most valuable sapphire colour in Sri Lanka is the Padparadscha; it’s a delicate mix of pink and orange that feels like the shade of a tropical lotus bloom. Real Padparadscha sapphires are extremely scarce, and at auction they can reach truly astronomical prices.

The exact colour ratio needed so a gem is labelled as a Padparadscha is hotly debated among gemmologists, but it has to land on that gentle pastel harmony, without leaning fully into solid pink or turning into pure orange. Since these stones are so seldom seen in nature, unheated Padparadscha sapphires with very high clarity often pass the per-carat price of the best royal blue sapphires.