Price data
Sapphire price by colour
Sapphire prices differ by colour before anything else; this table computes the median price per carat of each colour family currently listed.
Live figures
Median price per carat by colour
| Colour family | Listed stones | Median US$ per carat |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Sapphire | 4 | US$ 1,669 |
Computed from the 13 listed stones this table draws on, each carrying a price, a carat weight and an issued report. Groups publish at three or more stones.
The wider market
How do these compare with the wider market?
| Type | General range, US$ per carat | What moves a stone within it |
|---|---|---|
| Blue, heated | about US$ 200 to US$ 4,000 | Pale commercial stones at the bottom, fine royal blue at the top. |
| Blue, unheated | about US$ 500 to US$ 12,000 | Typically two to five times the equivalent heated stone; fine cornflower and royal blue sit at or above the top. |
| Padparadscha | about US$ 2,000 to US$ 20,000 | Heated stones at the bottom, fine certified unheated stones at the top; exceptional stones exceed this by multiples. |
| Pink | about US$ 150 to US$ 4,000 | Pastels at the bottom; vivid unheated hot pink sits above the range. |
| Yellow | about US$ 100 to US$ 2,000 | Pale lemon at the bottom, vivid golden unheated stones at the top. |
| Teal | about US$ 500 to US$ 3,000 | Most true teal is unheated; an even balance of blue and green carries the top. |
| Parti | about US$ 150 to US$ 2,000 | Varies widely with the pattern; published figures for parti are thinner than for any other type. |
| Green | about US$ 100 to US$ 2,000 | Green scatters more than any other colour; clean pure greens sit well above dark or olive stones. |
| White | about US$ 50 to US$ 800 | The least expensive faceted type; large clean well cut stones carry the top. |
| Star | about US$ 100 to US$ 3,000 | The sharpness and centring of the star dominate the price more than the body colour. |
General market figures drawn from published trade and gemmological guides, last reviewed August 2026. They describe the wider retail market in round terms, not our listings; the table above is computed from the stones listed here.
The driver
Why does colour move price most?
Colour moves price most because it is what the eye reads first and what the ground supplies least evenly. Two sapphires of the same weight and clarity can sit far apart on price when one holds a strong even hue and the other reads pale or grey.
Scarcity pushes the same way. Some colours surface far more often than others in the island gravels, and padparadscha, which has to hold pink and orange together, is the scarcest of them. Cut then decides how much of the colour the stone shows face up, so a well oriented stone asks more than a poorly oriented one of the same hue.
The reading
How should this table be read?
Read it as a ranking of the colour families listed here now, not as a price for any single stone. Each row states the median price per carat of one family beside the number of listed stones that median rests on.
The count matters as much as the figure. A family standing on a handful of stones moves noticeably as the next one is listed, while a family standing on many moves less. Within a row the spread stays wide in any case, because weight, clarity, cut and treatment differ from stone to stone.
The gaps
Why do some colours show no row?
Because a family publishes only once three or more of its stones are listed with a price, a carat weight and an issued report. Below that the row is left out rather than shown, since a median drawn from one or two stones describes those stones and nothing else.
A missing colour is therefore a statement about the listings rather than about the stone. The family may be held as a pending stone whose report has not been issued, or listed too thinly to publish. Its row appears of its own accord once the count is met.
Keep reading
What moves the price after colour?
Weight compounds colour, because the price per carat climbs as stones get scarcer with size, and treatment splits the market again. Both have their own page, computed on the same basis as this one; the general market ranges by type sit on the index page.
Questions
Asked about colour and price
If a question about the table is not answered here or in the methodology, write to Colombo and a gemmologist replies, not a template.