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by Richard W. Hughes

An examination of the problem of separating pink sapphire andpadparadscha from ruby.

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Ruby, Pink Sapphire & Padparadscha • Walking the Line • LotusGemology

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness,

Ever notice how gemologists and dealers toss the term padparadscha around like somekinda überrock. If the gem isn’t buff enough to make the centerfold of Gem & Gemology, it issniffed at as a “lesser being” unworthy of the name.

And when it comes to the crimson corundums, despite a decade’s worth of McCarthyism weYanks still cannot sort out the difference between a pinko and a true red.

By this point, I know what you’re thinking. Do I really want to continue reading? Straight outof the gate this man is three sheets into a gale-force Beat ramble.

But follow me here, people. The crux of what I’m about to discuss is a desire – most human Iadmit – for a simple word to separate something that has stymied the best minds of mygeneration. The question is whether or not a variety name should encompass hue positionalone, or segregate gems of the same hue into different groups based on often poorlyunderstood tone and saturation ranges – factors that often have a direct bearing on quality.

Four corundums of the same hue (red), but showing a variation in saturationand tone. Most gem dealers would classify stones 3 and 4 as rubies, whilestone 1 would be a pink sapphire. Stone 2 walks the line, a ruby to some,while a mere pink sapphire to others. This clearly illustrates the problemscreated by overly narrow variety definitions. Photos: Wimon Manorotkul

Ours is a strictly visual medium. Unfortunately, when it comes to questions like ruby vs.pink sapphire, or padparadscha vs. lesser branches of the corundum family tree, we behaveas though we are all graduates of the Braille Academy of the Visual Arts. Too often, we feelfor the dots on the lab cert, rather than looking with our own eyes to see if it is beautiful.

Ruby or pink sapphire? A lesson from the past

—  Allen Ginsberg, Howlstarving hysterical naked…

Today it is the fashion of our land to refer to the pinks as something other than reds. But itwasn’t always that way. In days gone by, pink corundums were termed female rubies, asopposed to the deeper red male stones. Witness the following:

—  Sydney Smith

The sense of sight is indeed the highest bodily privilege, thepurest physical pleasure, which man has derived from hiscreator.

—  A.M. Philalethes, 1817

Rubies, for which Ceylon was renowned at a very early period,are seldom found at present of any considerable size; and arenot often larger than particles of gravel or grains of barley: TheIndians speak of them as more or less ripe, which means moreor less high-coloured.

Which of the colors at left is pink? According to the Methuen Handbook ofColour, the sample at right is pink, while the left sample is a purplish red.This illustrates how the line between one color and another is oftenextremely subjective.

A search of the gemological literature reveals that the term pink sapphire did not appearuntil the beginning of the twentieth century. Prior to this, all corundums of a red color (pinkis merely a light red) were referred to as rubies. Typical was the following:

Here’s another from 1873:

—  J.F. Stewart, June 11, 1855Gems and Gem Searching in Saffragam (from Ferguson, 1888)

The Pink-ruby (“patmaraga” Singh.) is a beautiful stone andseldom met with. It is by some prized equally with the ruby. It isof a light ruby colour with a strong dash of pink in it. This islikewise rarely found without blemish. It sells well whendefectless, both among Europeans and Asiatics.

—  Harry Emanuel, 1873

The colour of the ruby varies from the lightest rose-tint to thedeepest carmine. Those too dark or too light are not esteemed.

Then someone decided that pink was not red. In the late 19th and early 20th century, theterm pink sapphire makes its first appearance:

So what exactly is pink? The MethuenHandbook of Colour (1989) provides the following definition:

The color purpleIt is a common, but erroneous, belief that Thai/Cambodianrubies are more “purple” than those from Mogok. Using theproper definition of the term purple (i.e., a hue or hues lyingbetween red and violet), we actually find that Mogok rubies

—  G.F. Herbert Smith, 1913

The tint of the red stones varies considerably in depth; jewellersterm them, when pale, pink sapphires, but, of course, no sharpdistinction can be drawn between them and rubies.

—   Methuen Handbook of Colour

Pink: Same as rose; a general name which may have beenderived from that of the pink family of plants. It is usedsomewhat arbitrarily in reference to pale and light reds.

are more purple than those from the Thai/Cambodian border.Gem dealers know what they are seeing, but do not describe itin terms consistent with the use of those same words in otherindustries. To the color scientist, purple is merely a hueposition. In order to properly describe the color, saturationand darkness must also be defined.

The problem with most dealer descriptions of gem colors isthat they try to describe all colors and color differences interms of changes in hue position and darkness. In fact, whenjudging the color of gems, saturation of hue is of paramountimportance, not tiny nuances in hue position. When a gemdealer says that a Thai/Cambodian ruby is too purplecompared to those from Mogok, he is confusing the low-saturation red (grayish red) of the Thai ruby with the highersaturation (but more purplish) red of the Mogok stone.

Which of the above colors is more purple?Surprisingly, the answer is neither. Bothhave identical hue positions, differingonly in saturation and tone.

Riding the edgeExactly where does one draw the line? Neither gemologists or traders can agree, which hasled to the ridiculous situation of stones being brought to labs solely to determine if they arerubies or pink sapphires. Hello? Anyone home?

Where can such madness lead? Allow me to illustrate. A stone was sold to a client. In anattempt to give a conservative description, the seller tagged it a pink sapphire. The buyer

sent it to a major lab, and was crushed when her fine “pink sapphire” was labeled a mere“ruby” by the rock docs. This is precisely the type of misunderstanding that results whenone relies on the word, as opposed to what is manifest with the eye.

In the case of pink sapphire, our corundum conundrum has resulted from a quirk oflanguage. In the Queen’s English, “red” is dissected into two separate words. To thelayperson, “pink” is synonymous with “rose” and refers to pale or light reds, while “red”encompasses deeper tones and intensities only. Since ruby is defined as being red,someone decided that pink must be a sapphire and problems began. However, to the colorscientist, pink is a subvariety of red. Logically, they would fall under the same heading.

A comparison can be made to the Thai language, which features two distinct words forblue. See fah (สฟีา้) refers to light blue, while see num ngun (สนี�ําเงนิ) covers only the richervariety. If Thais used the same logic for blue sapphire as we apply for ruby/pink sapphire,then blue sapphires from Ceylon would have a different name than those from Australia.

Make sense? Not to me, but much of the gem trade apparently thinks so, because this isexactly how we subdivide red corundum.

We don’t have this problem with blue sapphires; light or deep blue, they are still bluesapphires. So why not label all red corundum ruby, regardless of depth or intensity, just aswas done prior to the 20th century? This would eliminate the above problem.

In 1989, the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) adopted just suchnomenclature. Unfortunately, the powerful American market continues to use the termpink sapphire, leading producing countries both by the nose and all of us into needlessproblems.

In English, both of the colors above would be described as blue. But in theThai language, blue is subdivided into two categories. That at left would be

see fah (สฟีา้), while that at right would be see num ngun (สนี�ําเงนิ). In Englishwe subdivide red in an identical fashion, with deeper shades called "red,"while lighter shades are called "pink." This has created the problem of whereto draw the line between ruby and pink sapphire.

The princely kiss of padparadscha

Just what is in a name? Plenty when it comes to thejewel known as padparadscha. The debate over its use pits those who believe that romanticterms are vital sales aids against others afraid that buyers will be taken advantage of if thepadparadscha brush is too broad. But before getting into that, let’s look at the root word ofour padparadscha.

—  Buddhist mantra

Om mani padme hum – Hail the jewel in the heart of the lotus

A marriage made in heavenThe ideal color of a padparadscha has been described by some as themarriage between a lotus flower and a sunset, each shown above in SriLanka. Photos © Wimon Manorotkul (left) & Richard W. Hughes (right).

Today, many narrowly define padparadscha as a Sri Lankan sapphire of delicate pinkishorange color. But the original use of the term was somewhat different. Padparadscha isderived from the Sanskrit/Singhalese padma raga (padma = lotus; raga = color), a color akinto the lotus flower (Nelumbo Nucifera ‘Speciosa’). Wojtilla provides the following from aSanskrit source under his description of ruby:

Ever look at a lotus? I’ve stuffed my snout intoblossoms all the way from Bangkok to Badulla and have come up with only one conclusion– they are far more pink than orange. Indeed, in ancient times padma raga was a sub-variety of ruby.

While virtually every writer on the subject makes the lotus comparison, certain others alsoadd the concept of fire or sunset, almost an aurora (sunrise) red-orange. Here is an earlydefinition from the Indian subcontinent, dating from about 1200–1300 AD:

Molten gold? That sounds nothing like a lotus color. Even today in Sri Lanka there is noagreement. Some use the term to describe stones more pink than orange, while otherscompare the color as a lotus flower married to a Sri Lankan sunset. Witness the followingfrom 1855:

—  G.Y. Wojtilla (1973)

Arthasastra [an ancient Sanskrit book] knows the followingnames: saugandhika (lotus-coloured), padmaraga (the same)…

—  Sarma, 1984Thakkura Pheru’s Rayanaparikkha –A Medieval Prakit text onGemmology

Varieties of RubyThat which spreads its rays like the sun, is glossy, soft to thetouch (komala?), resembling the fire, like molten gold and notworn off is paümaraya [padmaraga].

Moving to amore recentreference from Sri Lanka, we have:

—  J.F. Stewart, Gems and Gem Searching in SaffragamCeylon Observer, June 11, 1855 (from Ferguson, 1888)

The Topaz (puspa raga, Singhalese) claims notice next. Thereare two varieties of it: the “ratu puspa raga” and “kaha pusparaga.” The former is of a bright yellow color, with a reddishtinge and is the more valued. The latter is pure bright yellow.The first variety is scarce, and the second is comparativelyplentiful. The topaz and the sapphire seem to be species of thesame stone differing only in color – it is not unfrequent to find apiece of stone partly yellow and partly blue. This stone is notmuch sought after by Europeans, but it is prized among theSinghalese. It is said to sell well at the Presidencies of India andin Arabia.

A sapphire of orange-red or pink colour, is locally referred to aspadmaraga (padma – lotus flower; raga – colour). Manyscholars call this variety padmarascha, which is a misnomer.The term raga means colour, attraction, desire, musical rhythmand pollen; therefore, the name for the lotus-flower coloured

Sri Lankan padparadscha sapphire crystal, 8 by 5 cm; Collection: PaulRuppenthal; Photo: Studio Hartmann; From Gem & Crystal Treasures byPeter Bancroft

Yet still another recent reference from Sri Lanka:

—  D.H. Ariyaratna, 1993

corundum should be padmaraga, and not padmarascha.However, lotus flowers are also found in white, but in thisinstance the colour referred to is the orange-red or pink lotusflower, growing in Shri Lanka. " There is also the yellowsapphire of Shri Lanka, commonly called pushparaga inSinghalese. The term pushpa means flower; as raga is colourand also means pollen, hence pushparaga is the “colour ofpollen.” Although pollen can be brownish yellow or yellow incolour, the Shri Lankan gem trade from ancient times to thepresent, has always referred to pushparaga as a yellow varietyof corundum." " The important words to consider in the latterexample are flower, colour and pollen, in the origin of the name,pushparaga. However, in both examples of padmaraga andpushparaga, the term raga refers to the colour. Therefore, theword padmaraga also confirms that the correct term for theorange-red or pink sapphire should be accepted as padmaragaand not padmarascha." " "

And if one reads the Western gem literature, we find that padparadscha is sometimesdifferent again, often being used to describe stones that are more Sunkist than anythingelse. Indeed, what some hold out to be the mother of all pads, the 100.18-ct. stone in theMorgan collection at New York’s American Museum of Natural History is, to put it politely,pink-challenged.

I think readers by now are getting the picture – this is one poorly understood word, with nogeneral agreement as to its meaning. Even our word – padparadscha – adopted from aGerman gem text early in the 20th century – is a corruption. Which should probably make allof us feel good, since the whole process of defining this thing has the word “bastard”written all over it.

Location, locotion, loco?One problem with names likepadparadscha is that they areintrinsically associated with thelocalities where they were first found.When a rhododendron-colored garnetwas first discovered in North Carolina,

—  Gunaratne and Dissanayake, 1995

The term pathmaraga is a Singhalese term applied to a veryspecial colour variety of corundum, so named after the lotusflower as its colour is sometimes akin to a variety of thisflower…. The colour combination produces the rare andbeautiful colour of a sunset red at its best as seen across atropical sky.… The colour of pathmaraga is apparently acombination of yellow, pink and red, with mildly conspicuousflashes of orange.

G.F. Kunz, who was well aware of themarketing value of an attractive name,dubbed it rhodolite.

Upon finding that garnets of similarcolor could be found in other locales(‘rhodolite’-like garnets had beenmined for over two millennia in SriLanka), gemologists attempted to“prove” that true rhodolites wereunique and locality-specific, even goingso far as to identify the rhodolite varietynot just by color, but by refractiveindex. This led to the ridiculoussituation where garnets of identicalcolor and composition were labeleddifferently. One point too high or lowon the RI meant a gem would not beawarded the coveted rhodolite title,but shot at dawn as a lowly almandineor pyrope spy.

Locality is not a practical way ofdefining gem varieties. Even if it werepossible to determine, it becomesmeaningless when a new source isdiscovered that produces similarqualities. Quite frankly, the best“padparadscha” this author has everseen was unearthed in Vietnam, not SriLanka. And if we need further evidence,the discovery of Cu-bearing “Paraíba”tourmalines in Nigeria andMozambique should put the questionto rest once and for all.

Kiss the frogIt seems logical that, should the gem trade decide the name padparadscha is worthkeeping, it should define the accepted color range. A gem could then be compared to a setof color references to see if it merited the princely padparadscha kiss.

The AGTA Lab did just this. They took a variety of stones that dealers suggested met thecriteria of padparadscha and scientifically defined the color range using an imagingspectrophotometer.

Unfortunately, the results of that attempt almost entirely excluded the stones producedfrom Tanzania’s Umba Valley, changing the temperature of one dealer holding said goodsfrom well-beyond the padparadscha to a flame color any gemologist would clearly agreewas pure ruby country.

Most dealers and gemologists feel that the Umba stones do not qualify because of theiroverly dark tones and strong brown (’garnety’) component. But what about the spectacular“aurora” red-orange stones from Vietnam and Madagascar, colors which, to this Philistine’seye, wee-wee all over any pad ever out of Lanka? Certainly ain’t no brown in those babies.

Although I have not personally examined the AGTA data, from what I understand in mydiscussions with the relevant authorities, the definition excludes oranges of high saturationand/or dark tone, mainly because Sri Lanka has traditionally never produced such colors. Inother words, when it comes to getting pad papers, think P – as in past and pastel.

Pad vs. PinkSo what exactly is a padparadscha and how does it differ from our pink sapphire? Goodquestion. We can see that padma raga was originally applied to a lotus-colored ruby, but forsome that might even include a ratu puspa raga (a reddish yellow sapphire). And what ofthe padma raga – which in ancient times was also said to refer to a pink ruby? Well duh – wecall those pink sapphires.

Hope that clears the whole thing up. Now I’m getting back to my prayers – praying for worldpeace, to be sure – but most importantly, praying that the Sri Lankans never unearthanything like the stones from Vietnam or Madagascar.

If we only had a word…

—  William Shakespeare

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other namewould smell as sweet.

In this humble scribe’s opinion, there exist twoideas that deserve to be eternally banished. First, the use of the phrase “improved stability”with any software upgrade. And second, the idea that a single word will somehow protectthe gem-buying public.

Most gem varieties encompass a broad range, including both highbrow and low. Sapphirealone takes under her wing everything from powder blues through indigo to dark, inkystones where hue is all but MIA. We the-gem-buying-traders and they-the-gem-buying-public have no problem with such variety descriptions. Why should we?

Four blue sapphires showing a variation in saturation and tone. Unlike withruby/pink sapphire, the gem trade places all stones into the same variety, nomatter what the tone/saturation range. Broad variety definitions such as thisactually enhance consumer protection, because they force buyers to usetheir eyes, rather than looking for definitions on a gemological report.Photos: Wimon Manorotkul

Think about it. When was the last time you awoke shaking at night at the thought ofinnocents being led down the primrose path of an overly dark blue or – worse still – a yellowof poor saturation? We do not have this problem with either blue or yellow sapphiresbecause the broad nature of the variety definition forces us to do something we don’t seemto like doing – use our eyes.

Dear, dear. Were we all promised blindfold judgment when we signed on in this business? Idon’t know about you, Martha, but not once did I believe that, after I mixed my blood withthat of my fellow gem cultists, I could retire my eyes.

In this business, some words work, others don’t. Words like blue work. Why? Because theyare simple and based on hue position alone, not lightness/saturation. If it is blue, it issapphire, and all sleep soundly at night.

Yet other words are the source of endless insomnia. Pink and padparadscha are two fortrouble, largely because people attempt to use them to describe poorly understood colorand quality attributes (lightness/saturation), rather than simply hue position.

Angelic

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. He’s finally lost it – the sillybugger’s now reduced to citing Dr. Seuss.

But stay with me here people…

I see just fine. Really. I see the past – the dozens of meetings where the best minds of mygeneration have dissected definitions like padparadscha and pink sapphire with thereligious fervor of pinhead priests and their prancing angels. All to no avail. And I see thefuture – all of us starving – hysterical – naked – doing exactly the same. Unless we relearnthat most basic lesson – how to use our eyes.

On my shelf I keep a hundred books on truth, my neighbor that times three. Each onedifferent. How can that be? Because we listened to our fathers. We keep our eyelids up. Wesee what we can see.

AcknowledgmentsThe author would like to thank Pala International’s William Larson for forcing the author to

—  Dr. Seuss

When I leave home to walk to school, Dad always says to me…“Marco, keep your eyelids up and see what you can see.”

increase the size of his reptilian worldview.

About the authorRichard W. Hughes is the author of the classic Ruby & Sapphire and over 150 articles onvarious aspects of gemology. Many of his writings can be found at www.lotusgemology.comand www.ruby-sapphire.com. His latest book is Ruby & Sapphire: A Collector's Guide (2014).

AfterwordThis article was first published in The GemGuide (2002), July/August, Vol. 21, Issue 4, Part 1,pp. 4–8.

ReferencesAriyaratna, D.H. (1993) Gems of Shri Lanka. London, self published, 5th edition, 109 pp.Crowningshield, R. (1983) Padparadscha: What’s in a name? Gems & Gemology, Vol. 19,pp. 30–36.Emanuel, H. (1873) Diamonds and Precious Stones. New York, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2ndedition (1st ed., 1865), 266 pp.Ferguson, A.M. and Ferguson, J. (1888) All About Gold, Gems and Pearls in Ceylon andSouthern India. Colombo, London, A.M. and J. Ferguson, 2nd edition, 428 pp.Gunaratne, H.S. and Dissanayake, C.B. (1995) Gems and Gem Deposits of Sri Lanka.Colombo, National Gem and Jewellery Authority of Sri Lanka, 1st ed., 203 pp.Kornerup, A. and Wanscher, J.H. (1978) Methuen Handbook of Colour. London, EyreMethuen Ltd, 3rd edition, 252 pp.Philalethes, A.M. (1817) A History of Ceylon from the Earliest Period to the Year MDCCXV.London. The author is believed to have been the Rev. G. Bissett.Sarma, S.R. (1984) Thakkura Pheru’s Rayanaparikkha: A Medieval Prakit text onGemmology. Aligarh, India, Viveka Publications, 84 pp.Smith, G.F.H. (1913) Gem-Stones and their Distinctive Characters. London, Methuen &Co., 2nd edition (1st ed. 1912), 312 pp.Wojtilla, G.Y. (1973) Indian precious stones in the ancient East and West. Acta OrientaliaHungaricae, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 211–224.

See AlsoHughes, R.W. (2012) The Ownership of Words: An essay on the meaning ofpadparadscha. Journal of the Gemmological Association of Hong Kong, Vol. 34, pp. 50–58.

Lotus Gemology's Padparadscha Sapphire Buying

GuideBy Richard W. Hughes

Introduction/Name. Padparadscha sapphire is a special variety of gemcorundum, featuring a delicate color that is a mixture of pink andorange – a marriage between ruby and yellow sapphire. The questionof just what qualifies for the princely kiss of "padparadscha" is amatter of hot debate, even among experts.

Today, padparadscha is narrowly defined by Western gemologists as aSri Lankan sapphire of delicate pinkish orange color. But the originaluse of the term was somewhat different. Padparadscha is derivedfrom the Sanskrit/Singhalese padmaraga, a color akin to the lotusflower (Nelumbo Nucifera 'Speciosa'). Most lotus blossoms are farmore pink than orange, and in ancient times, padmaraga wasdescribed as a subvariety of ruby (cf. the Hindu Garuda Purana).Today, some define the gem's color as a blend of lotus and sunset.

A further complication is with orange sapphires from Tanzania's UmbaValley. While they are orange, their color tends to be much darker thanthe ideal, with brownish overtones. Thus most traders do not feel theyqualify as true padparadschas.

Color. Unlike other rubies and sapphires, the finest color ofpadparadscha is not directly a function of color intensity (saturation).The most valuable padparadschas display a delicate mixture of pinkand orange.

Lighting. Incandescent lights, whose output is tilted towards the redend of the spectrum, highlight both the pink and orange inpadparadscha.

Clarity. In terms of clarity, padparadscha sapphires tend to be cleanerthan ruby. Buyers should look for stones that are eye-clean, i.e., withno inclusions visible to the unaided eye. Because of the pastel shadesof most padparadschas, any inclusions will be quite visible. Thusagain, the emphasis is on eye-clean stones. Many padparadschasdisplay color zoning, with bands of intense orange against a pinkbackground. This is what provides the mixture.

Cut. In the market, padparadschas are found in a variety of shapes

and cutting styles. Due to the shape Sri Lankan rough, stones are oftencut with overly deep pavilions. Ovals and cushions are the mostcommon, but rounds are also seen, as are other shapes, such as theemerald cut. Slight premiums are paid for round stones. Cabochon-cut padparadschas are not often seen (this cut is used for star stones,or those not clean enough to facet). The best cabochons arereasonably transparent, with nice smooth domes of good symmetry.

Prices. Padparadscha is one of the world's most expensive gems, withprices similar to those fetched by fine ruby or emerald. But like all gemmaterials, low-quality (i.e., non-gem quality) pieces may be availablefor a few dollars per carat. Such stones are generally not clean enoughto facet. Prices for padparadschas vary greatly according to size andquality. At the top end, they may reach as much as US$50,000 percarat or more.

Stone Sizes. Padparadscha sizes tend to be similar to ruby. Probablythe largest fine stone known is the 100.18-ct. oval in New York'sAmerican Museum of Natural History. But any fine untreatedpadparadscha of quality above two carats is a rare stone. Fineuntreated padparadschas above five carats can be considered world-class pieces.

Phenomena. While star sapphires in other colors are common, starpadparadschas are practically unknown. This is because yellow andorange sapphires from Sri Lanka generally lack the concentrations ofwell-defined silk necessary to produce distinct asterism.

Sources. The original locality for padparadscha is Sri Lanka (Ceylon)and certain purists believe the term should be restricted only tostones from Ceylon. However, fine stones have also been found inVietnam's Quy Chau district, Tanzania's Tunduru district, andMadagascar. Stones from these latter three areas are often heat-treated and may reach rich "orange-juice" or "papaya" oranges thatare quite beautiful.

Tanzania's Umba Valley also produces orange sapphires and somedealers argue that these qualify as padparadschas. However, theircolor tends to be much darker than the ideal, with brownishovertones. Thus most traders do not feel they qualify as truepadparadschas.

The above stone is a fine example of apadparadscha sapphire. Weighing 20.84 ct, it soldin 2005 for US$374,400. Photo © Christie's

Enhancements. Today, many padparadscha sapphires are heat-treated to improve their appearance. The resulting stones arecompletely stable in color. In lower qualities, heat-treated stones sellfor roughly the same as untreated stones of the same quality.However, for finer qualities, untreated stones may fetch a premiumthat is sometimes 50% or more when compared with treated stones ofsimilar quality.

A fraudulent treatment sometimes seen is where a pink sapphire isirradiated to give it a padparadscha color. The resulting color isunstable and will fade with prolonged exposure to sunlight. Othertreatments, such as oiling and dying are seen on occasion.

Beginning in late 2001, sapphires of padparadscha colors beganappearing from the ovens of Thai burners. It was later found thatthese gems owe their color to a form of outside-in bulk (‘lattice’)diffusion with beryllium. See this link for more on these stones.

As with all precious stones, it is a good practice to have any major

purchases tested by a reputable gem lab, such as Lotus Gemology, todetermine if a gem is enhanced.

Imitations. Synthetic sapphires have been produced by the Verneuilprocess since about 1908 and cost just pennies per carat. Colorsinclude some in the padparadscha range. Synthetic sapphires havealso been produced by the flux, hydrothermal, floating zone andCzochralski processes, but such stones are rarely encountered.Doublets consisting of natural sapphire crowns and synthetic sapphirepavilions are sometimes seen, particularly in mining areas. Syntheticsare also common at the mines, in both rough and cut forms.

Properties of Padparadscha SapphireComposition Al O

Hardness(Mohs)

9

SpecificGravity

4.00

RefractiveIndex

1.762–1.770 (0.008) Uniaxial negative

Crystal System Hexagonal (trigonal)

Colors Mixture of pink and orange

Pleochroism Weakly dichroic: two shades of the body color

Phenomena None

Handling

Generally no special care needed; all ruby andsapphire jewelry can be cleaned using hot soapywater, or detergent. Make sure to rinse thoroughlyafterwards as detergents can cause dermatitis andallergic reactions. Enzyme cleaners should beavoided for the same reasons. Brushing with an oldtooth brush to remove dirt and grease will also help.Cleaning agents containing chlorine may have adetrimental effect on low-carat gold alloys, so arebest avoided. Many padparadscha sapphires owetheir color in part to color centers that can bedamaged by heat, so care should be taken. Should astone be accidentally bleached by heating, in manycases it can be returned to the original color by

2 3

exposure to sunlight for several days.

EnhancementsFrequently heated; occasionally irradiation, oiling,dying, lattice diffusion (with beryllium)

Syntheticavailable?

Yes

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