Image © Sotheby's, The Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59 ct Burmese ruby ring by Cartier sold for US$32.42 million ($1,266,901/ct) at Sotheby's Geneva on 12 May, 2015, a per carat and total price world ruby auction record.

In this way readers will begin to develop a taste for pricing. Auction record per carat price for a single sapphire of any origin and per carat price for Kashmir sapphire: Sotheby's Hong Kong (Lot 1860) 7 Oct. 2015: $6,745,688 total $243,703/ct: Kashmir: Sotheby's, 2015: Unnamed 130.50 ct; faceted, cushion shape; brooch.

In 2017, we published Ruby & Sapphire: A Gemologist's Guide, with completely updated tables. At 62.02 ct, the Rockefeller Sapphire hails from Myanmar's Mogok Stone Tract. Some rare and exotic colors are valuable, including the scarce orange-pink Padparadschah sapphire and the color-changing sapphire, which turns different hues depending on the light. It currently holds the title as the most expensive colored gemstone in the world. Generally, the greater the carat weight, the more the stone’s value. Auction records (per ct) for ruby from 1979 through May 2015. Thus what follows should be regarded as a work-in-progress. What follows is a listing of auction price records for ruby and sapphire.

This lovely matched pair of rubies (14.54 and 13.12 ct) set a new auction per carat and total price record for Mozambique ruby at Tiancheng International's 3 Dec. 2017 sale in Hong Kong.

Image © Sotheby's.

Color has the greatest influence on a sapphire’s value, and preferred sapphires have strong to vivid color saturation. Make Offer - 3.35ct C.Dunaigre Certified Intense Kashmir Blue Sapphire Natural Unheated Stone 2.79 CTS FANTASTIC NATURAL UNHEATED KASHMIR GREY PURPLE SAPPHIRE-REF VIDEO $199.99 Kashmir is in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, lying mainly in a valley between India and Pakistan. Not because they represent the highest prices paid, for they don’t; the finest gems generally trade hands in private sales at prices above the auction market.

Blue Sapphires. As sapphires get bigger, their price-per-carat increases more and more, due to the rarity of larger stones. ), they are public, and thus useful for those wishing to better understand prices.

Prices on rare gemstones generally rise over time, and sometimes they can rise quite rapidly when supply is tight and demand is particularly strong. Image © Christie’s, Sotheby's Hong Kong (Lot 1860) 7 Oct. 2015. Image © Christie’s, This 8.62 ct Burmese ruby ring by Graff sold for US$8.57 million ($994,040/ct) at Sotheby's Geneva on 12 November, 2014, then a total price world ruby auction record. Prospective buyers should not just visit auctions, but also the offices of dealers and jewelers.

Image © Christie's, The "Jewel of Kashmir," a magnificent 27.68 ct sapphire set a new per carat auction record for sapphire on 7 October 2015, when it sold for $6,745,688 ($243,703/ct) at Sotheby's Hong Kong.

In case of price of blue sapphire, the most valued color is the medium toned blue with good saturation, that is characteristic of the legendary Kashmir blue sapphire. The richer the color, higher will be the price per carat.

Per carat auction records for ruby and sapphire as of October 2015. Unless stated otherwise, all prices are US dollars. Carat weight has a large impact on a sapphire’s price. The record price at auction was slightly over 3 million dollars for a 22.66 carat Kashmir sapphire that was sold by Christie's in New York in 2007. Image © Christie's.

Image © 2005 Christie’s. That’s why the record-breaking blue sapphire went for $150,000 per carat (or 30 times the bottom basement price).

They featured a Lotus Gemology report. While auction prices do not always accurately reflect the market (due to bidding wars, etc. The highest total price ever paid for spinel jewelry was for this Imperial Mughal necklace, which sold in 2011 for a princely US$5,214,348. It sold at Christie's NYC 11 April, 2001 sale for $3,031,000 ($48,871/ct), at the time both a per carat and total auction record for sapphire. The most valued blue sapphires are velvety blue to violetish blue, in medium to medium-dark tones. Unlike real estate, gems can and do travel, and therefore have a worldwide value. We started tracking this data in the mid-1990's while working on Ruby & Sapphire (1997) and have continued to maintain it at Ruby-Sapphire.com, including information with our latest book Ruby & Sapphire: A Collector's Guide (2014). Sapphires with these qualities command the highest prices per carat. Sapphire auction records from 1979 through 2015. In 2005, this 20.84-carat padparadscha sapphire fetched US$18,000 per carat at auction. Some gemologists described this piece as "a nice stone", indicating that it was far from the finest sapphire from Kashmir. Image © Sotheby's, Weighing in at a massive 392.52 ct, the Blue Belle of Asia set a new auction record total price for sapphire, being hammered down at US$17,295,796 at Christie's Geneva's 11 November 2014 sale. The most valuable type is the cornflower blue color, also known as the Kashmir sapphire.

Click on the diagram for a larger image. We reference them because the auction scene is an open reflection of the world gem market. If the stone is of the highest quality, it will significantly increase the price per carat.

On 24 September 2015, the Hope Spinel sold for $1,464,661 ($29,217/ct), a new auction per carat record for spinel. Photo: Tiancheng International. At WP Diamonds, we specialize in buying sapphires and gemstones of over 1ct. World auction records for ruby, sapphire and spinel. Sadly there is not a lot of information on spinel auction records, since so few of these gems end up at auction.

So for the moment we can say that $135,000 per carat is the top price for blue sapphire.