Do you dare to be different? Purple sapphires are one of the least well known of the sapphire family, and certainly one of the least appreciated. Very spectacular stones, and far rarer than their traditionally recognized blue cousins, purple sapphires are the best kept secret you need to know about now!

If you want to stand out from the crowd, a gorgeous, sultry purple sapphire in a beautiful platinum halo setting might just be the answer!

Purple Or Violet?

Purple/violet sapphires are similar in color to pink sapphires, but darker and always with purple  or violet as the dominant color.These sapphires appear more blue than pink, they range from medium purple, to dark reddish purple, to violet purple with weak to vivid color saturation. See the range in our inventory of loose sapphires. The color is certainly rare, we include them, fittingly with our Unique Sapphires.

The Make Up Of Purple Sapphires 

Purple sapphires are sometimes confused with amethysts; a variety of quartz. The abundantly common quartz registers a 7 on the Mohs scale of hardness, compared to the Sapphire’s 9, and can be easily broken, chipped, or shattered. Not only more rare, but sapphires are more durable than amethysts to the daily knocks of life, the only material harder is diamond. In terms of brilliance and sparkle, once again the sapphire comes well ahead, if you put an amethyst and a sapphire next to one another you’ll see that a sapphire has much more sparkle and clarity.

All sapphires are a variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide. It is small amounts of trace elements present during the formation of the corundum, over thousands of years that give the sapphire its specific color. In the case of purples, one of the primary elements is chromium.

Treatments For Purple Sapphires

The vast majority of sapphires available on the market today are heat treated. This is carried out to enhance the stone’s color and clarity. Unlike most sapphires, purples generally have a good natural color saturation and very rarely require any treatment. The vast majority of purple sapphires we hold have not received any enhancement treatments, and consequently fetch a slightly higher price. Specific information about each sapphire we stock includes whether a stone has received treatment.

Pricing Of Purples

Purple sapphires are usually priced higher than yellows and greens, but below blue sapphires. This puts them in the mid range of fancy colored sapphires along with pinks. Our Most highly priced sapphire in this category is $45,600, while our lowest priced item is $331.

Currently, the most highly valued sapphires are the salmon orange colored Padparadscha. As evidence of purple’s desirability, blue sapphires that display secondary purple or violet flashes will be priced much higher than those with yellow, green, or gray flashes. The most desirable and valued blue sapphires are a cornflower blue with secondary purple or violet hues and flashes. Having a purple sapphire is not only a unique choice but a very popular one!

The Ring Setting For A Purple Sapphire

Finding the right setting style and ring metal to make the best of your chosen sapphire is very important. is not always straightforward, especially with so many ring designs available. However, a purple sapphire surrounded by a diamond halo, or with a pave band, will look spectacular.

In general the color purple suits the more silvery colored ring metals. Metals such as platinum, palladium and white gold, the former being the most popular metal currently for engagement and wedding rings.
If you’re creating your own personal ring design my advice would be to pick your stone first and then test it out against different ring setting designs. With a certain jewelry company (I’m not mentioning any names!) high quality composite images of your chosen stone and setting can be provided which show exactly what the finished ring will look like.

The Meaning Of Purple 

Purple embodies the balance of red’s stimulation and blue’s calm. With a sense of mystic and royal qualities, purple is a color often well liked by very creative or eccentric types and is the favorite color of many children.

Purple helps individuals get in touch with their feelings. It also symbolizes calmness. It has been said that you should wear purple when you want to encourage fantasy, mystery and imagination. Very appropriate in any romance! Will you dare to be different?

Tell Us More

Tell us, do you love purple sapphires? What does the color mean to you, do you love the color and does it hold a special meaning? Would you wear a purple sapphire engagement ring or other jewelry items?

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