There was a time when the word sapphire was synonymous with the color blue because the only gems one saw in jewelry were a variation of that hue. In more recent times, we've become a lot more adventurous and use sapphires in just about every color imaginable so I assumed, since I've been covering fine jewelry and gems for such a long time, that I was familiar with all of them. Hubris!
The world of gem stones is vast and it wasn't until I read John Burdett's latest off-beat mystery (set in Bangkok as usual) that I ran across the incredibly colored padparadscha sapphire. Pads, as they are known to the cognoscenti, are transparent rocks whose color falls between the luscious pink of a lotus blossom and the vibrant orange of a tropical sunset. The true and rarest Pads exhibit delicate shades of both colors in the same stone and are the most expensive, running as high as $30,000 per carat.
Should you set off on a padparadscha hunt, don't be swayed by stones ranging in color from pale yellow to orange or pink. There's a lot of doctored stones about, many heat-treated to bring out their color and there's even a long-running argument among jewelers as to what really deserves the designation padparadscha. What you want is a Pad from a Sri Lankan mine with flashes of both pink and orange that looks like a candy as much as a gem.
Try checking out your friendly neighborhood Cartier shop since they did several pieces using padparadschas in a 2008 collection, such as the stunning 22.4 carat ring shown below. If wearing this beauty doesn't blow away your friends, nothing will... plus you'll have the evil pleasure of explaining what kind of gem you're wearing.
Photo: Katel Riou...Cartier 2008
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