Color change vs no color change sapphire?

[Pinkmartini87]

Hi all,

Just curious for a stone of comparable quality and size, is a color change sapphire (blue to purple for instance) more expensive than a simply blue or purple sapphire, or in between a blur and purple sapphire seeing how blue is typically favored over purple?

While in prior posts I've been looking for a 5+ carat violet sapphire, is it harder to look for a 5+ carat color change sapphire of similar quality?

My friend was just showing me her color change sapphire today, so thought I'd ask the group. Hers change from a violet blue to a complete purple without any blue tones so is using the terminology color change appropriate rather than color shift? (I've seen a few purple sapphires shift color slightly, but none as complete as hers)

 

[Sagebrush]

Pinkmartin,

Normally, the most expensive sapphire is one that holds its blue to slightly purplish blue hue in both incandescent and natural light. Color change stones are rarer, but less expensive because, technically, the bleed color. That said, the finest examples, those that turn from purple to blue as the light changes are truly beautiful and arguably rarer than pure blues.

Like most things in the gem business, the terms color shift and color change is not set in stone. I prefer using the term "color shift" to describe gems that shift from one to another adjacent hue on the color wheel (blue-purple) and reserve "color change" to describe gems like alexandrite and some garnets that leap (blue/green-purple-red) across the wheel. Bear in mind, some labs, specifically AGL will not call a sapphire "color change" unless the change is viewed in normal lighting. This is interesting because most of the best color shifting sapphires require fairly intense light to see the change.

RWW

 

[elle_71125]

I don't know about the pricing but I would imagine it's a lot harder to find color change in the size your looking for, especially with the specifications you had in mind. It would be beautiful though. I have a soft spot for blue to purple color change.

 

[Seaglow]

Like sagebrush I also prefer to use color shift if the change is only a hue beside the original color and color change when it skips.

Based on what I see in the market, the pure top color blues are higher in price, but definitely the colorshift (pure blue to pure purple) is rarer. Though rarer, there is more demand for pure top color blues and people are willing to pay a premium for such, but I imagine a 5 carat good color shift (good color in both shifts) would be directly offered by dealers to collectors.

 

[lilmosun]

When looking for a blue sapphire ring, I came across one that seemed like a great price. It didn't black out in sunlight and I had a gemologist friend look at it. The verdict was that it was a great deal even more so because it was very unlikely unheated (something about the rutile silk inclusions). While it was blue in jewelers lighting and outdoors, I was bummed to see it shift to a decidedly purple color in most indoor lighting. Admittedly, I don't love it's purple side so always assumed that was why it wasn't as expensive as other blue sapphires I've seen.

 

[normanintheskywithsapphires]

Generally, a 'full' color change is always more expensive. It is something special and rare, if you like the looks or not. I have read about 'bleeding' which is the loss of color in low light. That is not color-change and should not be more but less expensive, to my understanding?

 

[Sagebrush]

Norman,
You can think of color change as extreme bleeding.

 

[normanintheskywithsapphires]

I thought so, too, but then, a good color change SHOULD bring in a NEW color from the wheel into a stone, while 'bleeding' could simply mean that the main day-light-color looses its saturation in a different light setting?
So, an alexandrite goes from red to green, but a bleeding sapphire turns sky-blue into steel-blue, while true a color change sapphire goes from blue to purple, or even blue to green?

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

From the science, don't you have various minerals like chromium, vanadium, and iron contributing to the color? And then you get a color shift because one of the components, like vanadium, responds very differently in different light. But is "bleeding" when one shade drops out? Blue and purple are both pretty. If you want a stone that performs well in all lights, though, you'll be disappointed when your red garnets turn brown or your blue sapphires turn gray. Is that considered "bleeding" of the saturated color?

 

[normanintheskywithsapphires]

MissyB, yes, that is exactly how I have understood it, in all humbleness.