There are many gemstones to choose from when you're browsing jewellery, but we have to admit we have a soft spot for sapphires. This characterful and durable stone comes in an array of colours, ranging from subdued shades to deep, vivid hues.

Along with the price and cut, the colour of your sapphire will likely be one of your main considerations when thinking about your purchase - and whichever you go for, it's important to make sure your stone is ethically sourced too.

For those contemplating sapphire as their stone of choice for a special jewellery piece or engagement ring, we're taking a closer look at all of the tones you can find this gemstone in.

What are the different colours of Sapphire?

The word 'sapphire' may be synonymous with the saturated shade of blue we have all come to associate it with, but natural sapphire gemstones actually come in a whole spectrum of enchanting colours; almost every colour, in fact, that you can think of.

Sapphires are part of the corundum family; corundum is a colourless, rock-forming mineral. It is when trace elements find their way into the mineral during the course of its development that it takes on different colours. For example, the presence of iron and titanium create a blue sapphire. Rubies are actually the red variety of corundum; all of the other shades are sapphires.

Blue sapphires

Let's start with the most well-known; sapphires in their famous blue shade are loved by many, making them an incredibly popular stone option for engagement rings and other special jewellery pieces .

There are many different shades of blue available - from more gentle light and medium blues to the brighter shades of vivid blue, cornflower blue, velvet blue and royal blue. For those looking for a blue sapphire stone with a twist, peacock sapphires are a beautiful blue green shade, and indigo or twilight blue sapphires are deeper, duskier hues.

Blue sapphire

Green sapphires

The green sapphire is one of our favourite gemstones to work with. This captivating stone comes in a range of shades; light green, medium green, vivid green, and even teal. We particularly love green sapphire engagement rings for their unique, earthy properties that make them a perfect choice for couples who love nature - or who simply prefer to opt for something different to a big sparkly diamond.

Green sapphire

Pink sapphires

For fans of all things pink, sapphire stones come in an array of shades. For those who prefer a softer look, you'll find light and medium pinks as well as rosé pink and peachy shades. If you're looking for more of a statement, the intense vivid pinks, fuschias and hot pinks may be up your street.

The more intense the pink colour of the sapphire, the rarer it is. This can impact the price too; the deeper shades tend to be more valuable because of it, although of course this doesn't mean anything about the beauty of the stone itself, and the lighter shades can be just as lovely as the more saturated ones.

Despite being more rare, pink sapphires can tend to command a lower price tag than their more popular blue counterparts - although ultimately it all depends on the stone itself and the particular shade of blue or pink.

Sapphires that are described as being 'red' tend to be slightly purple or maroon, as ultimately a true red corundum is a ruby.

Pink sapphire

Padparadscha sapphires

The unique colouration of the padparadscha sapphire is what gives it its name; the word is an ancient Sanskrit one that describes the colour of the lotus flower. These rare stones are a striking mixture of orange and pink and are prized for their beauty, individuality and scarcity.

Orange and yellow sapphires

It's much lesser-known that sapphires also come in a range of orange and yellow hues. These include shades such as orange yellow, Mekong Whiskey (a yellow amber colour), light yellow, medium yellow, vivid yellow and canary yellow. In general, yellow sapphires will carry a lower price tag when compared to an equivalent blue sapphire.

You may also comes across a type of orange sapphire called 'red sapphire' - but this is just due to a strong red colouration, rather than being ruby red.

Purple sapphires

Sapphires can also be found in an array of purple tones. Said to bring self-confidence, peace of mind and success, purple sapphires come in delicate light purple shades, brighter medium purples, and intense vivid or deep purples. The dark purple shades are the rarest in this particular family of colours.

White sapphires

White sapphires are colourless stones (and you may hear them referred to as colourless sapphires), meaning that they have no trace mineral content. Effectively, they are a 'pure' sapphire. They are increasing in popularity as a diamond alternative, especially for those who have concerns about the ethics of the diamond industry.

There are a handful of white sapphire variations that have a very delicate tone which is not strong enough to be classified as a coloured stone. These gems are often found in Sri Lanka and they are more rare than pure white sapphires, coming in colours such as very pale champagne, blueish-white, yellowish-white and a pinkish-white.

White sapphire

Brown sapphires

Brown may not be the first colour you think of when you imagine a precious gemstone, but they can actually be very beautiful.

Even so, the earthy, rich and warm brown sapphire is generally considered the least valuable of all the sapphire shades. In order to be considered valuable, they must be incredibly clear, with no inclusions (materials that have been trapped inside the gems as they form). Brown sapphires themselves are fairly common, however these cleaner, more 'perfect' stones are comparatively rare.

Bi-Colour sapphires

While all sapphires are ultimately unique, bi-colour sapphires are have an appeal that is particularly one-of-a-kind. Sometimes called parti coloured sapphires, these stones are always distinctly individual due to featuring two or more colours within a single stone. This can happen in many combinations, with green and yellows being fairly common and blues and purples less so.

As these gemstones are so unique, we love to incorporate them into our ethical engagement rings - a perfect symbol of the uniqueness of a relationship!

Bi-colour sapphire

Colour Change sapphires

Not to be confused with bi-colour sapphires, a colour-change sapphire is exactly as it sounds. These stones display different colours in different lighting conditions, with the most pronounced change seen from florescent light to incandescent light.

Colour change sapphires have strong pleochroism, which effectively means 'more colours', and most frequently change from blue to purple, although they can come in a variety of shades. They are an extremely rare form of sapphire.

Which is the most expensive sapphire colour?

Overall, blue sapphires tend to be the most expensive, with this colour being ever-popular and in constant high demand. However, the prices of individual sapphire gemstones of any colour are heavily reliant on their shade, cut, and clarity, and even in a more general sense the answer is not as clear cut as it sounds.

There are actually several colours of sapphire that command the highest prices, namely blue, pink, and padparadscha. As pink and padparadscha stones are less common than blue, they are less likely to be found in large sizes. With carat being an important element of their price, blue sapphires, which are more readily available in large sizes as well as being more likely to have exceptional clarity, there are a higher proportion of blue sapphires that meet the criteria for a high price point.

The particularly saturated blue and pink sapphires are the most likely to be more expensive as this intense colouring is highly valued.

Which is the rarest sapphire colour?

The padparadscha sapphire is considered to be the rarest sapphire colour with its unique blend of orange and pink.

Pink sapphires are rarer than blue sapphires, and often have an appearance which is close to their (very costly) alternative - pink diamonds.

What is the most popular sapphire colour?

Blue sapphires tend to be the most popular colour, as well as of course being the most closely associated with the gemstone. There are cultural and societal elements that feed into this; the fact that members of the Royal Family have worn blue sapphires in some very prominent pieces of jewellery, for example.

In recent years, the popularity of other sapphire shades has increased, particularly as people seek engagement rings that feel different and true to them. Green and pink sapphires are becoming more prevalent for these special pieces.

If you're interested in your own piece of sapphire jewellery that's ethically made from sustainable materials, we think you'll love our designs at Wild Fawn.

You'll find sapphires used a lot in our ethical engagement rings; we have a lot of ready-to-buy rings in green and teal shades. And if you're looking for a bespoke engagement ring, we're always happy to talk about ethically sourcing a sapphire in your chosen colour to create the perfect design for you.