Sophisticated, durable and imbued with meaning, sapphires are the most celebrated blue gemstones in the jewellery industry. While blue is the most popular variant, sapphires come in an expansive array of colours – from fiery oranges and yellows to subdued pinks, to name a few.

As one of the “Big Three” in the coloured gem sector alongside rubies and emeralds, sapphires are perennial favourites in the trade, commanding high prices. 

The market’s insatiable demand for sapphires with the most vivid and stunning colours is evident in international auction results over the years. In 2014, Christie’s Geneva sold a necklace adorned with the highly coveted “Blue Belle of Asia” sapphire for US$17.5 million, making it the most valuable sapphire in the world. It weighed an impressive 392.52 carats.

A ring embellished with a 27.68-carat sapphire known as the “Jewel of Kashmir” meanwhile fetched US$6.7 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2015.

Blue sapphires are not the only ones garnering buyers’ attention though. In 2017, Christie’s sold a stunning 28.04-carat Padparadscha sapphire and diamond ring for US$2.45 million. The stone, described by Christie’s as having an “extraordinary pinky-orange” hue, was deemed extremely rare as Padparadscha sapphires normally come in a salmon-pink colour.