Walking the line in ruby & sapphire
By Richard W. Hughes
In this humble scribe’s
opinion, there exist two ideas that deserve to be eternally
banished. First, the use of the phrase “improved
stability” with any software upgrade. And second,
the notion that narrowing the definition of a variety
label like ruby or padparadscha will somehow
protect the gem-buying public.
When
it comes to crimson corundums, despite
a decade’s worth of McCarthyism
we Yanks still cannot sort out the
difference between a pinko and a
true red.
And padparadscha is
even worse. Gemologists and dealers
treat this fair dame like some kinda überrock.
If she isn’t buff enough to
make the centerfold of Gem & Gemology, the
poor lass is sniffed at as literally
unworthy of the name.
By
now I know what you’re thinking: Do
I really want to continue reading?
Straight out of the gate this man
is three sheets into a gale-force
Beat ramble.
But
follow me here, people. The crux of what
I’m about to discuss is a desire
for a simple word to separate something
that has stymied the best minds of my
generation. The question is whether or
not a variety name (such as ruby or padparadscha)
should encompass a broad hue range, or
segregate gems of the same basic color
into different varieties based on tone
and saturation ranges – factors
that often have a direct bearing on quality.
 |
| Four corundums of the same hue (red), but showing a variation in saturation and tone. Most gem dealers would classify stones 3 and 4 as rubies, while stone 1 would be a pink sapphire. Stone 2 walks the line, a ruby to some, while a mere pink sapphire to others. This clearly illustrates the problems created by overly narrow variety definitions. Photos: Wimon Manorotkul |
Ruby or pink sapphire? A lesson from the past
Today it is the fashion of our land to refer to the pinks as something other than reds. But it wasn’t always that way.In days gone by, pink corundums were termed female rubies, as opposed to the deeper red male stones. Witness the following:
Rubies, for which Ceylon was renowned at a very early period, are seldom found at present of any considerable size; and are not often larger than particles of gravel or grains of barley: The Indians speak of them as more or less ripe, which means more or less high-coloured.
A search of the gemological literature reveals that the term pink sapphire did not appear until the beginning of the twentieth century. Prior to this, all corundums of a red color (pink is merely a light red) were referred to as rubies. Typical was the following:
 |
| Which of the above is pink? According to the Methuen Handbook of Colour, the sample at right is pink, while the left sample is a purplish red. This illustrates how the line between one color and another is often quite subjective. |
The Pink-ruby (“patmaraga” Singh.) is a beautiful stone and seldom met with. It is by some prized equally with the ruby. It is of a light ruby colour with a strong dash of pink in it. This is likewise rarely found without blemish. It sells well when defectless, both among Europeans and Asiatics.
Here’s another from 1873:
The colour of the ruby varies from the lightest rose-tint to the deepest carmine. Those too dark or too light are not esteemed.
Then someone decided that pink was not red. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the term pink sapphire makes its first appearance:
The tint of the red stones varies considerably in depth; jewellers term them, when pale, pink sapphires, but, of course, no sharp distinction can be drawn between them and rubies.
So what exactly is pink? The Methuen Handbook of Colour (1989) provides the following definition:
Pink: Same as rose; a general name which may have been derived from that of the pink family of plants. It is used somewhat arbitrarily in reference to pale and light reds.
Riding the edge
Exactly where does one draw the line? Neither gemologists or traders
can agree, which has led to the ridiculous situation of stones
being brought to labs solely to determine if they are rubies
or pink sapphires. Hello? Anyone home?
The color purple |
It is a common, but erroneous, belief that Thai/Cambodian rubies are more “purple” than those from Mogok. Using the proper definition of the term purple (i.e., a hue or hues lying between red and violet), we actually find that Mogok rubies are more purple than those from the Thai/Cambodian border. Gem dealers know what they are seeing, but do not describe it in terms consistent with the use of those same words in other industries. To the color scientist, purple is merely a hue position. In order to properly describe the color, saturation and darkness must also be defined.
Which of the above colors is more purple? Surprisingly, the answer is neither. Both have identical hue positions, differing only in saturation and tone. |
Where
can such madness lead? Allow me to illustrate. A stone
was sold to a client. In an attempt to give a conservative
description, the seller tagged it a pink sapphire. The
buyer sent it to a major lab, and was crushed when her
fine “pink sapphire” was labeled a mere “ruby” by
the rock docs. This is precisely the type of misunderstanding
that results when one relies on the word, as opposed
to what is manifest with the eye.
In
the case of pink sapphire, our corundum conundrum has
resulted from a quirk of language. In the Queen’s
English, “red” is dissected into two separate
words. To the layperson, “pink” is synonymous
with “rose” and refers to pale or light reds,
while “red” encompasses deeper tones and
intensities only. Since ruby is defined as being red,
someone decided that pink must be a sapphire and problems
began. However, to the color scientist, pink is a subvariety
of red. Logically, they would fall under the same heading.
A
comparison can be made to the Thai language, which features
two distinct words for blue. See fah refers to
light blue, while see num ngun covers only the
richer variety. If Thais used the same logic for blue
sapphire as we apply for ruby/pink sapphire, then blue
sapphires from Ceylon would have a different name than
those from Australia.
Make
sense? Not to me, but much of the gem trade apparently
thinks so, because this is exactly how we subdivide red
corundum.
We
don’t have this problem with blue sapphires; light
or deep blue, they are still blue sapphires. So why not
label all red corundum ruby, regardless of depth or intensity,
just as was done prior to the 20th century? This would
eliminate the above problem.
In
1989, the International Colored Gemstone Association
(ICA) adopted just such nomenclature. Unfortunately,
the powerful American market continues to use the term
pink sapphire, leading producing countries both by the
nose and all of us into needless problems.
The princely kiss of padparadscha
Just what is in a name? Plenty when it comes to the jewel known as padparadscha. The debate over its use pits those who believe that romantic terms are vital sales aids against others afraid that buyers will be taken advantage of if the padparadscha brush is too broad. But before getting into that, let’s look at the root word of our padparadscha.
 |
| The ideal color of a padparadscha has been described by some as the marriage between a Sri Lankan lotus flower and a sunset, each shown above (Author’s photos) |
Today, many narrowly define padparadscha as a Sri Lankan sapphire of delicate pinkish orange color. But the original use of the term was somewhat different. Padparadscha is derived from the Sanskrit/Singhalese padma raga (padma = lotus; raga = color), a color akin to the lotus flower (Nelumbo Nucifera ‘Speciosa’). Wojtilla provides the following from a Sanskrit source under his description of ruby:
Arthasastra [an ancient Sanskrit book] knows the following names: saugandhika (lotus-coloured), padmaraga (the same)…
Ever look at a lotus? I’ve stuffed my snout into blossoms all the way from Bangkok to Colombo and have come up with only one conclusion – they are far more pink than orange. Indeed, in ancient times padma raga was a sub-variety of ruby.
|
While virtually every writer on the subject makes the lotus comparison, certain others also add the concept of fire or sunset, almost an aurora (sunrise) red-orange. Here is an early definition from the Indian subcontinent, dating from about 1200–1300 AD:
Varieties of Ruby
That which spreads its rays like the sun, is glossy, soft to the touch (komala?), resembling the fire, like molten gold and not worn off is paümaraya [padmaraga].
Molten gold? That sounds nothing like a lotus color. Even today in Sri Lanka there is no agreement. Some use the term to describe stones more pink than orange, while others compare the color as a lotus flower married to a Sri Lankan sunset. The following from 1855:
The Topaz (puspa raga, Singhalese) claims notice next. There are two varieties of it: the “ratu puspa raga” and “kaha puspa raga.” The former is of a bright yellow color, with a reddish tinge and is the more valued. The latter is pure bright yellow. The first variety is scarce, and the second is comparatively plentiful. The topaz and the sapphire seem to be species of the same stone differing only in color – it is not unfrequent to find a piece of stone partly yellow and partly blue. This stone is not much sought after by Europeans, but it is prized among the Singhalese. It is said to sell well at the Presidencies of India and in Arabia.
J.F.
Stewart,
Gems and Gem Searching in Saffragam
Ceylon Observer, June 11, 1855
(from Ferguson, 1888)
Moving to a more recent reference from Sri Lanka, we have:
A sapphire of orange-red or pink colour, is locally referred to as padmaraga (padma – lotus flower; raga – colour). Many scholars call this variety padmarascha, which is a misnomer. The term raga means colour, attraction, desire, musical rhythm and pollen; therefore, the name for the lotus-flower coloured corundum should be padmaraga, and not padmarascha. However, lotus flowers are also found in white, but in this instance the colour referred to is the orange-red or pink lotus flower, growing in Shri Lanka.
There is also the yellow sapphire of Shri Lanka, commonly called pushparaga in Singhalese. The term pushpa means flower; as raga is colour and also means pollen, hence pushparaga is the “colour of pollen.” Although pollen can be brownish yellow or yellow in colour, the Shri Lankan gem trade from ancient times to the present, has always referred to pushparaga as a yellow variety of corundum.
The important words to consider in the latter example are flower, colour and pollen, in the origin of the name, pushparaga. However, in both examples of padmaraga and pushparaga, the term raga refers to the colour. Therefore, the word padmaraga also confirms that the correct term for the orange-red or pink sapphire should be accepted as padmaraga and not padmarascha.
And yet still another recent reference from Sri Lanka:
 |
| Sri
Lankan padparadscha sapphire crystal, 8 by 5 cm; Collection: Paul Ruppenthal Photo: Studio Hartmann From Gem & Crystal Treasures by Peter Bancroft |
The term pathmaraga is a Singhalese term applied to a very special colour variety of corundum, so named after the lotus flower as its colour is sometimes akin to a variety of this flower…. The colour combination produces the rare and beautiful colour of a sunset red at its best as seen across a tropical sky.… The colour of pathmaraga is apparently a combination of yellow, pink and red, with mildly conspicuous flashes of orange.
And
if one reads the Western gem literature, we find that
padparadscha is sometimes different again, often being
used to describe stones that are more Sunkist than
anything else. Indeed, what some hold out to be the
mother of all pads, the 100.18-ct. stone in the Morgan
collection at New York’s American Museum of Natural
History is, to put it politely, pink-challenged.
I
think readers by now are getting the picture – this
is one poorly understood word, with no general agreement
as to its meaning. Even our word – padparadscha – adopted
from a German gem text early in the 20th century – is
a corruption. Which should probably make all of us feel
good, since the whole process of defining this thing
has the word “bastard” written all over it.
Kiss the frog
It seems logical that, should the gem trade decide the name padparadscha
is worth keeping, it should define the accepted color range.
A gem could then be compared to a set of color references to
see if it merited the princely padparadscha kiss.
The
AGTA Lab recently did just this. They
took a variety of stones that dealers
suggested met the criteria of padparadscha
and scientifically defined the color
range using an imaging spectrophotometer.
Unfortunately,
the results of that attempt almost
entirely excluded the stones produced
from Tanzania’s Umba Valley,
changing the temperature of one dealer
holding said goods from well-beyond
the padparadscha hue to a flame color
which any gemologist worth his salt
would clearly agree fell into ruby
country.
Most
dealers and gemologists feel that the
Umba stones do not qualify because
of their overly dark tones and strong
brown (’garnety’) component.
But what about the spectacular “aurora” red-orange
stones from Vietnam and Madagascar,
colors which, to this Philistine’s
eye, wee-wee all over any pad ever
out of Lanka? Certainly ain’t
no brown in those babies.
Although
I have not personally examined the
AGTA data, from what I understand in
my discussions with the relevant authorities,
the definition excludes oranges of
high saturation and/or dark tone, mainly
because Sri Lanka has traditionally
never produced such colors. In other
words, when it comes to getting pad
papers, think P – as in past
and pastel.
Pad vs. Pink
So what exactly is a padparadscha and how does it differ from our
pink sapphire? Good question. We can see that padma raga was
originally applied to a lotus-colored ruby, but for some that
might even include a ratu puspa raga (a reddish yellow
sapphire). And what of the padma raga – which in
ancient times was also said to refer to a pink ruby? Well duh – we
call those pink sapphires.
Hope
that clears the whole thing up. Now I’m getting
back to my prayers – praying for world peace, to
be sure – but most importantly, praying that the
Sri Lankans never unearth anything like the stones from
Vietnam or Madagascar.
If we only had a word…
Ours
is a strictly visual medium. Unfortunately, when it
comes to questions like ruby vs. pink sapphire, or
padparadscha vs. lesser branches of the corundum family
tree, we behave as though we are all graduates of the
Braille Academy of the Visual Arts. Too often, we feel
for the dots on the lab cert, rather than looking with
our own eyes to see if it is beautiful.
Most
gem varieties encompass a broad range,
including both highbrow and low.
Sapphire alone takes under her wing
everything from powder blues through
indigo to dark, inky stones where
hue is all but MIA. We the-gem-buying-traders
and they-the-gem-buying-public have
no problem with such variety descriptions.
Why should we?
Think
about it. When was the last time
you awoke shaking at night at the thought
of innocents being led down the primrose
path of an overly dark blue or – worse
still – a yellow of poor saturation?
We do not have this problem with either
blue or yellow sapphires because the
broad nature of the variety definition
forces us to do something we don’t
seem to like doing – use our
eyes.
Dear,
dear. Were we all promised blindfold
judgment when we signed on in this
business? I don’t know about
you, Martha, but not once did
I believe that, after mixing my blood
with that of my fellow gem cultists,
I could retire my eyes.
In
this business, some words work, others
don’t. Words like blue work.
Why? Because they are simple and based
on hue position alone, not lightness/saturation.
If it is blue, it is sapphire, and
all sleep soundly at night.
Yet
other words are the source of endless
insomnia. Pink and padparadscha are
two for trouble, largely because people
attempt to use them to describe poorly
understood color and quality attributes
(lightness/saturation), rather than
simply hue position.
 |
| Four blue sapphires showing a variation in saturation and tone. Unlike with ruby/pink sapphire, the gem trade places all stones into the same variety, no matter what the tone/saturation range. Broad variety definitions such as this actually enhance consumer protection, because they force buyers to use their eyes, rather than looking for definitions on a gemological certificate. Photos: Wimon Manorotkul |
Angelic
Okay,
I know what you’re thinking. He’s finally
lost it – the silly bugger’s now reduced
to citing Dr. Seuss.
But
stay with me here people…
I
see just fine. Really. I see the past – the dozens
of meetings where the best minds of my generation have
dissected definitions like padparadscha and pink sapphire
with the religious fervor of pinhead priests and their
prancing angels. All to no avail. And I see the future – all
of us starving – hysterical – naked – doing
exactly the same. Unless we relearn that most basic lesson – how
to use our eyes.
On
my shelf I keep a hundred books on truth, my neighbor
that times three. Each one different. How can that be?
Because we listened to our fathers. We keep our eyelids
up. We see what we can see.
Acknowledgments. The author would like to thank Pala International’s William Larson for once again forcing the author to increase the size of his reptilian world view.
About the author. Richard Hughes is the author of the classic Ruby & Sapphire, and can be contacted at: rubydick@ruby-sapphire.com.
Afterword. This article was first published in The Guide (2002), July/August, Vol. 21, Issue 4, Part 1, pp. 4–8. The author has since edited it and added additional photos.
References
|
Palagems.com Padparadscha Sapphire Buying Guide Introduction/Name. Padparadscha
sapphire is a special variety of gem corundum, featuring
a delicate color that is a mixture of pink and orange – a
marriage between ruby and yellow sapphire. The question
of just what qualifies for the princely kiss of “padparadscha” is
a matter of hot debate, even among experts. Color. Unlike other rubies and sapphires, the finest color of padparadscha is not directly a function of color intensity (saturation). The most valuable padparadschas display a delicate mixture of pink and orange, similar to the crystal shown above. Lighting. Sapphires generally look best viewed with fluorescent light or daylight (particularly around just after sunrise and before sunset). Incandescent lights, whose output is tilted towards the red end of the spectrum, do not do most blue sapphires justice. Clarity. In terms of clarity, padparadscha sapphires tend to be cleaner than ruby. Buyers should look for stones which are eye-clean, i.e., with no inclusions visible to the unaided eye. Because of the pastel shades of most padparadschas, any inclusions will be quite visible. Thus again, the emphasis is on eye-clean stones. Cut. In the market, padparadschas are found in a variety of shapes and cutting styles. Due to the shape of the rough, stones are often cut with overly deep pavilions. Ovals and cushions are the most common, but rounds are also seen, as are other shapes, such as the emerald cut. Slight premiums are paid for round stones. Cabochon-cut padparadschas are not often seen (this cut is used for star stones, or those not clean enough to facet). The best cabochons are reasonably transparent, with nice smooth domes of good symmetry. Prices. Padparadscha is one of the world‘s most expensive gems, with prices similar to those fetched by fine ruby or emerald. But like all gem materials, low-quality (i.e., non-gem quality) pieces may be available for a few dollars per carat. Such stones are generally not clean enough to facet. Prices for padparadschas vary greatly according to size and quality. At the top end, they may reach as much as US$30,000 per carat. Stone Sizes. Padparadscha sizes tend to be similar to ruby. Probably the largest fine stone known is the 100.18-ct. oval in New York’s American Museum of Natural History. But any fine untreated padparadscha of quality above two carats is a rare stone. Fine untreated padparadschas above five carats can be considered world-class pieces. Phenomena. While star sapphires in other colors are common, star padparadschas are practically unknown. This is because yellow and orange sapphires from Sri Lanka generally lack the concentrations of well-defined silk necessary to produce distinct asterism. Sources. The
original
locality
for padparadscha
is Sri
Lanka (Ceylon)
and many
purists
today
believe
the term should
be restricted
only to
stones from Ceylon.
However,
fine stones
have also
been
found
in Vietnam’s
Quy Chau district, Tanzania’s
Tunduru district, and Madagascar.
Stones from these latter
three areas are often heat-treated
and may reach rich “orange-juice” or “papaya” oranges
that are
quite beautiful. Enhancements. Today,
many
padparadscha sapphires
are heat-treated
to
improve
their
appearance. The resulting
stones
are completely
stable
in
color.
In lower
qualities,
heat
treated stones
sell
for roughly
the same
as untreated
stones
of the
same
quality. However,
for finer
qualities,
untreated
stones
fetch
a premium
that
is sometimes
50% or
more
when compared
with
treated
stones
of similar
quality. Imitations. Synthetic padparadscha sapphires have been produced by the Verneuil process since about 1908 and cost just pennies per carat. They have also been produced by the flux, hydrothermal, floating zone and Czochralski processes, but such stones are rarely encountered. Doublets consisting of natural sapphire crowns and synthetic sapphire pavilions are sometimes seen, particularly in mining areas. Synthetics are also common at the mines, in both rough and cut forms.
Properties of Padparadscha Sapphire
For further information on padparadscha, see also:
|
Pala International
912 So. Live Oak Park Road 
Fallbrook, CA 92028 USA
Tel: 800-854-1598; 760-728-9121 Fax: 760-728-5827 E-mail: info@palagems.com
| Home
| Search Gems
| New in Stock
| Collector’s Corner
| Gem News
|
| Contact
| FAQs
| Get Password
| Forgot Password
|
| About
| Learning Vault
| Gem Spectrum
| Site Map
|
Page updated
February 8, 2010
Today,
padparadscha is narrowly defined
by Western gemologists as a Sri
Lankan sapphire of delicate pinkish
orange color. But the original
use of the term was somewhat
different. Padparadscha is derived
from the Sanskrit/Singhalesepadmaraga, a
color akin to the lotus flower
(Nelumbo Nucifera ‘Speciosa’).
Most lotus blossoms are far more
pink than orange, and in ancient
times, padmaraga was described
as a subvariety of ruby (cf. the
Hindu Garuda Purana).
Today, some define the gem's
color as a blend of lotus and
sunset.