Lighting may also affect the appearance of colour. Fine blue, pink, orange, or padparadscha sapphires that exceed fifteen carats are especially valuable and can fetch very high prices at auction.Ĭolour interpretation is unique from one person to the next. Expect steep increases in the price per carat at the one, three, five, and ten-carat levels. Prices for sapphires increase more exponentially or sometimes step-wise when in excess of certain significant carat weights. ‍ Large sapphires are many times rarer than smaller sapphires, meaning carat prices increase disproportionately - a five carat sapphire is worth many times more than five one Carat sapphires of a comparable quality.

Yellow sapphires are comparatively plentiful in sizes above five carats, but five-carat padparadscha sapphires are extremely hard to come by. The effect of carat weight upon sapphire value varies from colour to colour. The carat weight of sapphires does not necessarily define the value of the stone but in general per carat prices increase with overall carat weight of the stone. A carat is a metric unit equivalent to one fifth of a gram. A gemstone’s size, if expressed in a unit of weight, is called a carat or abbreviated “ct”.

Royal blue sapphire