Lotus Flower

Experts disagree on the exact color for Padparadscha. Actually one might say that the experts disagree on the approximate color. Even such an eminent source as Walter Schumann, whose book Gemstones of the World is virtually a bible for the gem trade, is inconsistent. At first he characterizes Padparadscha sapphire as "pinkish orange," and then on the very next page he describes the same variety as as "yellow and orange."

Since Padparadscha comes from the term for lotus flower, couldn't we resolve this confusion just be looking at the color of a lotus flower? That would be fine, except lotus flowers come in red, pink, blue, white and pale yellow. In Buddhism the pink lotus is regarded as the 'supreme lotus,' and the lotus associated with the historical Buddha. So maybe we should be looking at a pink lotus.

Padparadscha Sapphire

If we look at a pink lotus (see photo), the flower is decidedly pink. There is really no orange at all, except for the stamens and the seed cup (which is more yellow than orange). So it doesn't look like nature will give us the answer to our question.

Padparadscha Rough

The best consensus we've found from our reading of the gemological literature is that a Padparadscha sapphire must display both orange and pink hues with a pastel tone. There is no agreement on whether orange or pink should predominate. We've looked at hundreds of photos of alleged Padparadschas, and many look entirely pink or entirely orange to us.

Natural unheated Padparadscha sapphires are so rare that they sell for $5,000 a carat or more. You will rarely find them anywhere. More common are pink or orange sapphires that have been treated with beryllium to look something like the Padparadscha color. Usually the color is too saturated or the tone too dark to look like a genuine Padparadscha.

If you really love the Padparadscha-like color, your best bet to find it is not in sapphire at all, but in tourmaline. Many pink tourmalines have a delicate touch of orange and yellow, with the right pastel tone to meet the Padparadscha requirement. And they don't cost $5,000 a carat.