What You Need to Know About Pink Sapphire Engagement Rings

Pink sapphire engagement rings have become more commonly available since new deposits were found in Madagascar in the late 1990s. Up until then, these sapphire engagement rings were considered exceptionally rare, as the gems were only found in two locations around the world: Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

These stones have the usual inclusions typically found in corundum. Eye-clean stones are available on the market, but the majority of these have had their clarity augmented by heat treatment. Because the gems are so rare, pink sapphire engagement rings often weigh only half a carat or one carat.

Colour Variations

The gemstones vary in colour ranging from pale hues to vividly dark ones. Right now, the most coveted pink sapphire engagement rings have highly saturated purplish red hues with a medium tone. They attain their shade from the slight traces of chromium on the interior of the crystal during the formation process. Very high chromium concentrations will create a ruby. If the trace element titanium is also included in the crystal structure, the sapphire will have a more purplish hue.

Heat Treatments

Many of the sapphires from Madagascar are subjected to modest heat treatments to reduce their purplish secondary colours. The heat treatment protocols employed are very different from those given to their blue and yellow counterparts. Blue and yellow sapphires are heated at tremendous temperatures (up to 1800º C) for 3-10 days, often along with colour and clarity enhancing additives. Madagascar pinks, on the other hand, are heated at temperatures far lower (about 400º C) for only a few hours. This milder process does not alter the internal makeup of the gemstone, making treatment rather difficult to discern for expert gemmologists. The stones can be heated for as little as five minutes at low temperatures with no internal inclusions affected, whereas the high heat temperatures given to blues and yellows affect the inclusions drastically.

Detecting Treatments

Although some success in detecting treatment in pinks has been achieved by advancements in technology to detect trace element changes within the gem, the equipment is pricey and beyond the funding of the average jewellery lab. It is also still a new science and in many cases it can be very difficult to determine if a pink sapphire from Madagascar has been heated. Even the most respected professional laboratories have been known to disagree when evaluating the same gemstones, and therefore it is hard to assess accurate value in certain pink sapphire engagement rings.

Buyers entering the market should have a budget and adhere to it in order to make their purchase as reasonable as possible.