Padparadscha (sometimes spelled padparadshah) is an orangey pink sapphire (corundum). It is coming from the class of oxides and hidroxides. With a 0.008 birefringence and 0.018 dispersion, this very rare crystal stone padparadscha sapphire is valued for its attractive color. The most important deposits are located in Sri Lanka; some Vietnamese pink sapphires, and African red-orange sapphires come close to being padparadschas. Crystal stone padparadscha sapphire has trigonal system and composed from aluminum oxide. The name derives from the Sinhalese word for lotus blossom. Naturally colored (unheated) crystal stone padparadscha sapphire is among the rarest and most highly valued corundums in the world. Sri Lanka is the main producer for this gemstone.
Crystal stone padparadscha sapphires are one of the world’s most expensive gems, and prices are comparable to those fetched by fine rubies or emeralds, and even diamonds. Its habit is steep hexagonal bipyramids. Crystal stone padparadscha sapphires must have greater clarity than an equivalent ruby because inclusions seem to be more prominent in a padparadscha saphire. The luster is adamantine to vitreous and the hardness is at level 9. Crystal stone padparadscha sapphire gemstone has a weak-basal-parting cleavage and conchoidal fracture.
However, crystal stone padparadscha sapphires are rarer than rubies, and because they are usually only found in stones of well under two carats, they are highly prized and expensive. With 1.761-1.769 refractive index and specific gravity 3.98-3.99, the deep, saturated colors of crystal stone padparadscha sapphire are more valuable. Stones are normally faceted as a mixed cut, Beryllium-diffused (treated) pinkish orange sapphires are sometimes incorrectly called padparadschas.
A large majority of crystal stone padparadscha sapphires (and most other colors of sapphire) are heated to deepen the color and improve the clarity. The color of this amazing natural gemstone comes from trace quantities of both iron and chromium. The largest gem-quality crystal stone padparadscha sapphire was a 1126-carat crystal found in Sri Lanka in the mid 1980s. A large faceted example weighs 100.18 carats and can be found in the New York’s American Museum of Natural History.
