Padparadscha is an extremely rare variety of sapphire. In fact, it's the rarest and most prized form of sapphire. It is also one of the most expensive gems in the world, with prices similar to those of emeralds and rubies.

Padparadscha is also one of the hardest gems in the world, second only to diamond. As hardness is a factor that determines how long a gemstone will last, this trait makes padparadscha an excellent gem for jewellery.

The name padparadscha derives from the Sinhalese word 'padma radschen', meaning lotus blossom, as the stone is of a similar color to the lotus blossom. Most padparadscha gems are small, less than two carats in weight. However, a stone from Sri Lanka is on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York that weighs an incredible one hundred carats.

Padparadscha is a beautiful pinkish-orange color, but some retailers sell rich orange coloured sapphires as padparadscha. This is misleading, as true padparadscha displays a delicate mixture of orange and pink.

Quality stones have a uniform, pure pink/ orange color and will be a lot more expensive. Padparadscha is the only variety of corundum other than ruby that is given its own name. Usually, different varieties of corundum are referred to as a particular color of sapphire.

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