So, you’re wondering if sapphires are pricier than gold. However, you’re not the only one, as this is actually a super commonly asked question. The reality is that its allure can often obscure how much it costs, so who knows if this is the case with sapphires.

The price of sapphires is determined by their traits, such as clarity, size, and color, and not standardized market values like gold. If you compare the prices of gold and sapphires per gram, sapphires are usually more expensive but, unlike gold, can depreciate unless they are rare pieces.

If you’re desperate to know just how expensive the illustrious sapphire is, read this comprehensive guide!

What Makes Some Sapphires Rare And Why It Matters

The sapphire, one of the most well-recognized jewels, has always been associated with outrageous expenses and luxury. But this isn’t always true in certain cases of sapphires compared to other gemstones such as rubies, diamonds, garnets, and emeralds.

Why, might you ask? Well, this can namely be attributed to numerous factors such as color, clarity, weight, and brilliance that heavily influence the price of a gemstone. Therefore, for this reason, buying sapphires, especially as investments, can be risky as prices differ heavily.

When buying the most sought-after sapphires, you must also keep the locale of the stone in mind. If you can afford to buy the highest quality sapphires, look out for those found in regions such as Kashmir, Burma, and Madagascar, which produce the most beautiful stones.

The cut of a stone can also play a major role in its retail price, as it takes a very skilled lapidarist and a keen eye to maintain the brilliance and hue of a sapphire which attributes the stone to its price. This also needs to enhance the stone’s luster and hide any visible inclusions that affect the clarity.

Another caveat that influences the pricing of sapphire is if it has been altered someway. This is because certain colorations occur less frequently naturally in contrast to sapphires that have had their color altered through synthetic processes of heating and chemical treatment in laboratory settings.

The rarest color examples of natural sapphires, such as Padparadscha sapphires, catch the eye the most and, as a result, fetches higher prices. They can rarely be produced synthetically, which gives them such appeal.

Sapphires that possess the natural characteristics of color changes, bi-coloration, and asterism are also on the higher end of the price range because of their rarity. This is compared to the most common color variations, such as the stereotypical blue for which sapphires are known.

Regardless of color or clarity, these gemstones are now often used as a more affordable alternative to diamonds, whose prices are usually artificially inflated by companies. This is especially true regarding sapphires that are colorless and have great luster, which makes them look identical to diamonds.

How Much Does Gold Cost?

Gold, unlike sapphire, does not cause as much uncertainty prices, as the price is pre-determined and measured by fluctuating market values attached to the purity of said gold. This makes it more stable regarding an overall price than stones that are priced case by case.

If you want to compare the prices proportionally, it is difficult to determine whether gold or sapphire is more expensive. The gold price per ounce at the moment is around $1566, whereas sapphires, measured per carat, which is only 0.2 grams, can cost anywhere from $25 to as high as $11000!

This means that, yes, sapphires usually tend to be more expensive gram for gram in direct proportion to gold, but most people would rather stick to buying gold in ounces.

However, in most cases, when you’re buying a sapphire, it’ll cost between $450 to $1600 per carat. But, for investment purposes, most financial advisors would suggest that you stick to buying gold as it has more value on trade markets as a commodity than precious gemstones like sapphires.

The Ins And Outs of Buying Sapphires

If you’re telling yourself that you should now stick to buying sapphires as investment pieces, this is not really a good idea to the most experienced investors and financial advisors. They may have the allure of beauty and functionality in jewelry pieces, but this is not something that creates wealth.

Rather, like most precious stones, sapphires tend to depreciate over time. This is because their value isn’t determined like gold on international trade markets, which is largely tied to currencies. They aren’t as widely used in circuits, electronic equipment, phones, and aerospace technology as gold.

If you’re still set on buying a sapphire as an investment and can afford it, stick to buying sapphires with rare or very valuable traits like Padparadscha sapphires. If priced by an experienced gemologist or jeweler, these beauties can maintain their selling price on select markets.

Fun And Interesting Facts About Sapphires

The Ancient Greeks were known to wear sapphires as a form of paying homage to the god Apollo. This god represents the traits and aspects of life that were often desired the most by Grecian society, such as poetry, dancing, the sun, prophecy, the light, and the truth.

Many other people, such as the Persians and Indians, also wore sapphires over the ages. During the Middle Ages, the clergy members of Europe were also known to wear sapphires as protection amulets to ward off evil, avoid sinning and prevent themselves from contracting the much-feared bubonic plague.

These stones, part of the Corundum family, are one of the second hardest gemstones on the Mohs scale, only second to diamonds. Interestingly, sapphires exist in a vast array of colors, except red; otherwise, they would be called rubies!

At $242 145 per carat, a Kashmiri sapphire was sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $6,702,564, making it one of the most expensive sapphires ever sold recently. One of the biggest sapphires ever found to date is known as the ‘Star of India’, which comes at a whopping 563 carats or 112 grams!

Conclusion

Now that you’re hopefully a bit more informed about the true value of sapphires, you’ll see that, in a nutshell, they are more expensive than gold per gram. However, unlike gold, they only maintain their worth if they’re of substantial value. However, if you’re just into their beauty as jewelry pieces, then go for it!

References

Similar Posts