Gemstone Glossary

Fancy Sapphire

Sapphires are a widely varying gem type coming in all spectrums of color, except for red. Often when people refer to Sapphires, they mean Blue Sapphires. Other color Sapphires are referred to as Fancy Sapphires.

Fancy Sapphires are both extremely beautiful and very affordable. Some of the most popular colors for Fancy Sapphires include: yellow, pink, purple, lavender, white, green, orange, bi-color, tri-color and party (many different colors in the one stone).

Sri Lanka has long been famed for its array of both beautiful Blue Sapphires and variegated Fancy Sapphires but today Madagascar is actually out-stripping Sri Lanka in terms of volume.

A variety of yellow and gold sapphires are available in the world market, with Australia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania major sources of supply. Green Sapphires are found in Australia and Thailand. The shade of green tends to be close to the color of an army uniform, but exceptional stones do exist. Violet Sapphires tend to have color change as a common characteristic, especially when viewed under daylight. Color Change Sapphires are not very well known but can be quite magnificent when set into fine gold jewelry.

Australia and Africa are the world’s largest suppliers of Blue Sapphires. Sri Lanka also provides a large portion of the world’s supply of Blue Sapphires. Gemstones from this island are often called “Ceylon” Sapphires, which was the name of the island before it was changed to Sri Lanka. Pailin, Cambodia, is another source of exceptional Blue Sapphires. Burma is also known for their top quality supply of this gemstone.


Sri Lanka is the most famous mining area for Fancy Sapphires, for it is where Padparadsha Sapphires can be found. Padparadsha is a native phrase, meaning the “lotus blossom” and represents the pink-orange to red-orange color of the gemstone. Padparadsha Sapphires are the most expensive of all Fancy Sapphires and Padparadsha Sapphire jewelry has become extremely popular. Similar to Rubies, Sapphires come in many different shapes and sizes, providing great variety to gemstone lovers and ensuring the enduring popularity of this gem type. With hardness just below that of Diamonds, Sapphires are one of the toughest gemstones, and with no cleavage, breakage rarely occurs.

For Fancy Sapphires, the wearer’s preference is the most important value determinant, since these gemstones come in many different shapes, colors and sizes. Intensity, uniformity and purity of color are the most important factors. The cutting of Fancy Sapphires will also be another important evaluation factor.