Pink sapphire jewelry is making waves
When Britain’s Princess Eugenie showed off her pink-orange padparadscha engagement ring in early 2018, neither she nor her then-fiancé Jack Brooksbank (who has confessed to choosing the oval gem) could have anticipated the pink sapphire craze of today. Fashion has been falling in love with pink in recent years. In politics, via the 2017 Women’s March hat that now sits in the Smithsonian. In diamond jewelry, like the 10-carat pink diamond that rapper Lil Uzi Vert had implanted in his forehead, then removed, earlier this year.
Why pink sapphire is so attractive
The beauty of pink sapphire is rooted in the stone's hardness . " It is second only to diamonds in hardness, " said Joanna Hardy, author of " Sapphire: A Celebration of Colour ," published this fall. The stone's luster is also excellent. It produces sharp facets that help bring out the sapphire's color.
Selim Mouzannar , the Beirut jeweler who created a one-of-a-kind white gold cuff bracelet set with pink sapphires and tsavorites, describes pink sapphire as “ soft, silky and bright pink .”
“ When the pink sapphire crystal reflects light, your eyes see something special, ” he said. Additionally, the color of the sapphire changes depending on the angle.
That’s why Siobhan Bell, 32, an international DJ and producer based in Los Angeles, said she hopes a pink sapphire will one day be the centerpiece of her engagement ring . Pink is her favorite color, after all. “ Sapphires are more exclusive ,” she says, than diamonds.
Madagascar, the new sapphire Eldorado
Ms Hardy wrote in her book that most pink sapphires come from the islands of Sri Lanka and Madagascar. Sri Lanka's history with the gem (including the famous Ceylon blue version) goes back thousands of years. Its sources include the Bibile mines in the centre of the island's eastern region. The Elahera gem field in central Sri Lanka, and the Pelmadulla mine in the southwest, where padparadscha sapphires are found. For the record, padparadscha comes from the Sanskrit word for lotus flower , whose petals have the same pink and orange hues as the stone.
Madagascar didn’t actually become a major source of sapphire until 1998, when the gem was discovered in the town of Ilakaka. Now, “ you find every color under the Madagascar sun ,” Hardy said, noting that the stones from the two countries are actually similar in composition “ because millions and millions of years ago, Madagascar and Sri Lanka were neighbors. ”
As for pricing, “ when it comes to large sizes, the price is based on many parameters: clarity, luster, cut, shape, color, ” Mr. Mouzannar wrote in an email, adding that sapphires that have not been heated (to bring out their colors) are more valuable than heated stones.
Pink Sapphire Price vs Diamond
Based on smaller gemstones under a carat, a pink sapphire is 60 to 75 percent less expensive than a diamond , he said. And “ when you go larger, the difference will be higher, up to 90 percent ,” Mouzannar wrote. A 2-carat diamond costs about $15,000, compared with $1,000 for a 2-carat pink sapphire .
Still, pink sapphires can be more expensive than emeralds and semi-precious stones. For example, jeweler JupiterGem offers a 1.11-carat unheated padparadscha sapphire for $2,822, a 1.22-carat unheated pink sapphire for $2,393, a 1-carat natural emerald for $2,173, and a 1.32-carat natural aquamarine, a semi-precious stone, for $495.
For Christmas 2022, pink is omnipresent among jewelry
There’s a $13,300 Boghossian necklace in 18-karat rose gold with an icicle pendant made of pink sapphires. There’s also Alison Lou’s heart-shaped pink sapphire earrings set with enamel, Anita Ko’s rose gold pink sapphire ring that wraps around a pinky finger, and Sydney Evan’s pink sapphire beaded bracelet.
Even this year’s high jewelry collections include pink sapphires. Take Dior Joaillerie’s Dior Rose collection, whose gemstones sparkle at the center of some of its diamond roses. Or Van Cleef & Arpels, which made its Between the Finger rings sparkle with a 27.57-carat cushion-cut pink sapphire from its Sous les Étoiles collection.
And big stones are showing up. Case in point: the 23.89-carat cushion-cut pink sapphire at the center of Moussaieff’s bejeweled white gold pendant, which went on sale last month. It’s been five years since Alisa Moussaieff, the house’s president and owner, bought the stone from a dealer in Hong Kong. She waited until now to use it because “ people are asking for pink ,” she said.
The meaning of pink sapphire
Still, women have different views when it comes to the meaning of pink sapphires. “ Pink sapphire to me represents pink and love, ” said Ms. Bell, the DJ. “ I just think it’s a time right now where everyone is trying to be positive and think about love. ”
For Maddison May Modupe-Ojo, 27, the pink hue reminds her of " the women's movements that are growing in all areas. "
Making jewelry with pink sapphires is more complicated than it seems, said independent jewelry designer Suzanne Kalan, 63, based in Los Angeles and who has been using the gemstone since 2009.
“ We have to make sure we’re using the right shades or, if we want different shades on a ring, that we have them all. Usually, it’s two or three different shades, ” she said. And Kalan uses rose gold or yellow gold, rather than white, because “ those two colors make the pink pop better .”
Blue or green sapphire, the next trend?
This season, for example, she used pear-cut pink sapphires for unique 18-karat rose gold earrings with baguette-cut diamonds. “ These stones are bright, full of life and a beautiful color, not too pale and not too dark, like red ,” Kalan said.
While designers generally agree that pink sapphires will continue to be popular, many see other colors threatening pink's dominance .
Kalan predicts that light blue will be the next big sapphire color because " it's atypical ," though she added that it won't be as big a trend as pink. Mouzannar said green sapphires could break through because, he said, customers are looking for something different.
Alicja Wooles, managing director of Holts Gems in Hatton Garden, London, had similar views. She said her clients ask for teal sapphires . That is, stones with an unusual mix of blue and green. Why? Because “ people want to stand out, ” she said.
