A Complete Guide to Types of Sapphires for Jewelry

Sapphire occurs in nearly every color except red, and jewelers sort it by color, by the mine it came from, by optical effects, and by any treatment it received after mining. Knowing those labels helps you shop with confidence and ask sellers the right questions. 

In this guide, we cover the main types of sapphires, the colors they come in, the rarest varieties, and how cut and treatment affect what you see. You will also find practical tips on choosing a sapphire you plan to wear every day. 

Key Takeaways

• Sapphire belongs to the same mineral family as one famous red gem.

• Jewelers name sapphires by four systems, and one stone can carry labels from several of them.

• Blue is the best-known color, and the natural range goes well past it.

• Some sapphires show a star, change color under different lights, or display two colors in one stone.

• A pinkish-orange variety from Sri Lanka tops most rarity lists.

• Cut direction, heat, and the setting all affect how a sapphire looks and lasts on your finger.

What Type of Gem Is Sapphire?

Sapphire is the gem variety of corundum, a crystal made of aluminum oxide. Red corundum is called ruby, and corundum in any other color, including blue, pink, yellow, and colorless, is called sapphire.

• Mineral: corundum (aluminum oxide)

• Hardness: 9 on the Mohs scale

• Group: one of the four traditional precious stones, with diamond, ruby, and emerald

When you shop, you will see sapphire sold in three forms:

1. Natural sapphire, mined from deposits in countries such as Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Myanmar, Thailand, Australia, and the United States. 

2. Lab-created sapphire, which has the same chemistry and hardness as a mined stone and has been produced since the early 1900s.

3. Imitation sapphire, made from glass or another material that copies the color of corundum without being corundum.

Its hardness and wide color range have made sapphire one of the most requested types of gemstones for rings, next to diamond, ruby, and emerald.

How Many Different Types of Sapphires Are There?

No fixed number exists, because gemologists name sapphires by four separate systems, and a single stone can belong to all four at once.

A stone sold as an "unheated Ceylon blue star sapphire," for example, carries one label from each of the four systems.

What Are the Natural Sapphire Colors?

Traces of metals such as iron, titanium, chromium, and vanadium inside the crystal decide the color, and nature produces sapphire in blue, pink, purple, yellow, orange, green, white, black, and brown.

Blue Sapphire

Iron and titanium give blue sapphire its color, and the shades range from light cornflower blue to deep royal and dark midnight tones. 

Dealers place the highest value on a strong, even blue with no gray or green tint. Origin names such as Kashmir, Burma, and Ceylon tell you where a stone was mined, and in the trade they also point to a recognizable look: Kashmir stones for a soft, slightly hazy blue, Burmese stones for saturated royal blue, and Ceylon stones for lighter, brighter shades.

We set a 0.09ct blue sapphire in 14K yellow gold for our Midnight Blue Sapphire Silicone Ring, a compact design that keeps the deep color of the stone in focus.

Fancy Sapphires

Any sapphire that is not blue carries the trade name "fancy sapphire." The table below covers the main sapphire colors outside the blue range.

White and Black Sapphire

White sapphire is corundum with no coloring metals, so the stone is colorless and suits both accent stones and solitaires. Many shoppers look at white sapphire when deciding between sapphire vs diamond for a colorless ring, since the two stones differ in sparkle, hardness, and price.

Black sapphire is opaque and owes its dark color to a high iron content. Dealers value it most when the stone shows a star on its surface.

Which Sapphires Show Special Optical Effects?

These sapphire types are named for the way they handle light, so each one can appear in several body colors.

Star Sapphire

Fine needles of the mineral rutile, called silk, run through the crystal in three directions. When a cutter shapes the stone into a smooth dome called a cabochon, the needles reflect light as a six-rayed star (asterism) that moves when you tilt the stone. Blue, black, gray, and pink star sapphires are the colors you will see most in jewelry.

Color-Change Sapphire

This type shows one color in daylight and another under warm indoor light. The most common pairing is blue in daylight and purple under incandescent bulbs, and stones with a strong, clear change are hard to find.

Parti and Bicolor Sapphire

Parti sapphires hold two or more colors in separate zones of the same crystal, such as yellow next to green or blue. A stone with exactly two zones is called bicolor, and Montana and Australia produce many of these stones. The zones in a parti sapphire are visible at the same time and stay the same under any light, which separates them from color-change stones.

Which Is the Rarest Type of Sapphire?

Padparadscha holds the top spot. Its name comes from the Sinhalese word for lotus blossom, and most stones come from Sri Lanka, with smaller finds in Madagascar. The color has to balance pink and orange in a soft, even mix, and gem labs set slightly different limits for how much of each hue a stone may show, so only a small share of pinkish-orange sapphires earn the name.

Other sapphires near the top of the rarity list include:

1. Kashmir blue, mined mostly in the 1880s, with almost no new supply since.

2. Color-change stones with a strong, clean change between daylight and indoor light.

3. Large unheated sapphires with top color in any hue.

How Do Cuts Change the Look of a Sapphire?

Sapphire shows different color intensity when you view it from different directions, an effect gemologists call pleochroism. A cutter studies the rough crystal and positions it so the strongest color faces up through the top facet of the finished stone. Cutters also try to save weight from expensive rough, so many sapphires have a deep lower half (the pavilion) and slightly uneven proportions, especially stones cut close to the mine.

The cuts you will see most in sapphire jewelry:

• Oval: the most popular sapphire shape, adding length on the finger and holding color well

• Cushion: rounded corners and a deep body that keep the color rich

• Round: more sparkle, though the cutter loses more of the rough crystal

• Emerald cut: long step facets that show clarity, so inclusions are easier to spot

• Cabochon: a smooth dome with no facets, required for star sapphires

Our Blue Oval Sapphire Silicone Ring shows the oval shape in practice, with a blue sapphire set in 14K yellow gold on a Powder Blue or White band in sizes 4 to 10.

Are Most Sapphires Treated?

Yes. Most sapphires on the market have been heated to improve color and clarity, and the jewelry trade accepts this treatment because the results are permanent.

• Heated: standard in the trade, permanent, and should be disclosed by the seller

• Diffused: color added at the surface using beryllium or titanium at high heat; lower in value and must be disclosed

• Lab-created: the same chemistry as mined sapphire, grown in a lab, and sold under that name

• Unheated: no treatment at all, which earns a higher price for the same color and size

When you compare types of sapphires from different sellers, ask for treatment details in writing, and for larger stones request a report from an independent gem lab such as GIA, which states both treatment and origin.

What Has Sapphire Meant Through History?

Blue sapphire has stood for loyalty, wisdom, and protection for centuries, and kings and church leaders wore it for those reasons. Pink sapphire carries meanings of affection and kindness, which has made it a frequent pick for romantic gifts.

In Vedic astrology, blue sapphire is called Neelam and linked with Saturn, and yellow sapphire is called Pukhraj and linked with Jupiter and prosperity. Sapphire also marks the 45th wedding anniversary. 

As September's birthstone, sapphire carries its own set of legends and royal stories, from ancient Persian myths to famous engagement rings.

How Do You Choose a Sapphire for Everyday Wear?

A hardness of 9 lets sapphire handle daily contact with keys, desks, and gym equipment, so the setting decides how well the stone stays protected. A bezel setting wraps a thin rim of metal around the whole edge of the stone, which guards that edge against chips and keeps the stone from catching on fabric.

We set our sapphires in 14K gold bezels on flexible silicone bands, which turns band color into part of your choice. A few pairings to try:

• A blue sapphire on a blue band for a matching, tonal look

• A blue sapphire on a white band to draw attention to the stone

• Saturated stone colors for small sizes, since a deep hue stays visible at 0.10ct and under

For a birthday gift, our September sapphire birthstone ring holds a 0.09ct blue sapphire in 14K yellow gold and comes in sizes 3 to 10. You can browse all our silicone rings with sapphire and check our sizing chart before ordering, since the right size keeps the band comfortable and the setting secure.

Ready to Pick Your Sapphire?

Blue remains the classic choice, and the wider range of types of sapphires adds pink, yellow, padparadscha, star, and parti stones to your options. Once you know the color you want, check the cut for strong face-up color, ask about treatment, and choose a setting that lets you wear the stone through a full, active day.

FAQ