Ceylon Sapphire Price Per Carat – Price Guide for Various Ceylon Sapphires

Sapphires are one of the most precious gemstones in the world. Sapphires belong to the corundum family of minerals and comes in a range of colors such as blue, pink, yellow, green, purple, white and black. Ceylon is the previous name for Sri Lanka and gems from this island nation are still called Ceylon sapphires. The term Ceylon sapphires mostly refers to blue sapphires as Sri Lanka is most famous for its blue sapphires. But since Sri Lanka produce many other colors of sapphires as well, will try to cover those as well in this article when discussing Ceylon sapphire price per carat.

The rare and unique salmon pink sapphires, which are called Padparadscha sapphires, are also found mostly in Sri Lanka. Although Madagascar and Tanzania also produces Padparadscha, some gem experts says the “real” one only comes from Sri Lanka.

As a Sri Lankan, I feel very happy to help you in your efforts to buy the best Sri Lankan gemstones and hope to share as much knowledge as I can.

In this article, I am planning to cover following areas

• What are the determinants of the price of a Ceylon Sapphires?
• Ceylon Blue Sapphire Price per Carat
• Ceylon Padparadscha Sapphire Price per Carat
• Prices of Other Ceylon Sapphires
• Where to Buy Ceylon Sapphires

What Are the Determinants of the Price of Ceylon Sapphires?

Ceylon sapphire prices are determined using the same 4 c’s criteria used for any gemstones. A very detailed description of how this concept of 4 c’s are applied to analyze sapphires is given in this article.

In summary, 4 c’s stands for color, clarity, cut and carat weight. The combination of these factors mainly determines the price of any gemstone including sapphires. I will be going through Ceylon sapphire price per carat next and you will realize that there is a huge variation in prices. In order to understand this price variation, I highly recommend you to learn about the 4 c’s for sapphires
if you are not familiar with it.

Another determinant of the price is the treatment type which is also explained in detail that that article.

Price per carat also increases exponentially as the total weight of the stone increases. I will put the approximate price ranges in a table for the convenience of comparing. But it is important for you to know that it is not possible to give an exact range as there are no standard grading system for gemstone qualities like in the case of diamonds.

The price also depends on the seller. Here in Sri Lanka, the prices will be significantly lower compared to the prices in the US for example. That is because the cost of operations are significantly low here and also there will be less middle layers in the sales cycle. When the stone comes to recognized stores in another country, it often gets a premium price for their brand and also, they will have to cover their operation costs. Their purchasing prices can also be a lot higher than their will be a number of layers of merchants between the selling point from the gem mine and the jewelry store.

• An Important Note

Even though you can use this price guide to get an overall understanding, please check the prices of stones from many sellers as possible to get the up to date market knowledge. Etsy is a good place to start your market research on gemstone prices.

Here is a video which shows different colors of blue sapphire.

Ceylon Sapphire Price Per Carat

I am going to discuss blue sapphire and padparsdscha sapphire prices separately as Sri Lanka (Ceylon) is well-known for these two.

Ceylon Blue Sapphire Price per Carat

Sri Lanka is the most famous destination for blue sapphires and hence some people simply refers to Ceylon (Sri Lankan) blue sapphires as Ceylon sapphires.

For sapphires, color is the main price determinant. When it comes to blue sapphires, there are several color tones and the most expensive color is generally the “Royal Blue” (But this also depends on the country. For example, the most sought after color in Australia is the cornflower blue).

Here, the most expensive are the untreated natural stones with great colors. Since such stones are very rare, it is possible that certain stones will be even more expensive than. The lowest in the range will be for poor quality stones and I do not recommend buy stones which are available for those prices.

As the weight increases, the prices will be even more expensive and giving price ranges are not very useful since it can vary in a considerable range.

Ceylon Padparadscha Sapphire Price per Carat

Padparadscha sapphires are another unique and rare type of sapphire found in Sri Lanka. As mentioned earlier, some gem experts believe that only Sri Lanka produces the real Padparadscha sapphires even though similar color sapphires are found in Madagascar and Tanzania.

Following chart gives approximate prices for Padparadscha sapphires.

Unlike in the case of blue sapphires, the lowest price given here is not very low quality. You will be able to find decent stones for the lowest price in the above ranges. The highest prices are for the top clarity and color with an awesome cut. If you are planning to buy your sapphire online, I do not recommend buying sapphires in the higher price blocks. It is very hard to ensure that the stone you buy will actually fall into that level of super color grade and clarity without physically examining.

Prices of Other Ceylon Sapphires

The prices for other types of sapphires also varies in a considerable range just like in above two scenarios.

For pink, yellow, green and purple sapphires, the price per carat can start from around USD 200. White sapphires are slightly cheaper and USD 150 per carat is a decent starting point.

Black sapphires are generally a lot cheaper and even USD 10 per carat is possible to find on Etsy.

Where to Buy Ceylon Sapphires?

This is the next question that comes to your mind after deciding to buy a Ceylon sapphire. If you want to buy from a physical store, the options are endless and you can check for the best place near where you live. If you are planning to buy online, I have written a whole article on recommended online stores, which you can read here.

In case you are wondering, yes, I am also selling Ceylon sapphires. Just drop me a message to rajith@minutiaemoments.com with your requirements and I will accommodate your request.

Final Thoughts

Since the price of gemstone vary significantly based on the 4 c’s and treatment type, and the fact that there is not international standard for gemstone quality, giving exact Ceylon sapphire price per carat is very difficult. Therefore, as I earlier suggested, use these figures as a basic guideline and check with different sellers for actual market prices.

Ask as many questions as you want to understand the quality (in case you are going to buy online) and check for the gemstone certificate. If you are going to observe the stone in a store, then check for the 4 c’s very cautiously.

Since there is no standard price, you can be happy if you find the stone you are looking for, for a decent price. Do not over think and make the process complicated.

I hope the tips and prices I have shared will help you.