Caram in InColor: The Padparadscha, Sapphire's Rarest and Most Debated Color
The Fall 2026 issue of InColor, the magazine of the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA), carries a four-page feature by Rahul Jain, director of Caram, on the padparadscha sapphire. It's titled "The Padparadscha: Sapphire's Rarest and Most Debated Color" and runs in Issue 58 on pages 64 to 67. It looks at why one sapphire color can divide experienced gemologists, and what a buyer should weigh when it does.
What the Article Covers
Rahul traces the name to the Sinhalese padmaraga, rooted in the Sanskrit words for lotus and color, and to the stone's long association with Sri Lanka. The island's gem gravels produced padparadschas so delicate that the name Ceylon became shorthand for the variety. The piece then works through the three variables that make up any gemstone color: hue, tone, and saturation. It explains why a padparadscha qualifies only while pink and orange stay in balance. If the color drifts too far toward orange, the stone becomes an orange sapphire; if it falls back toward pink, it becomes a pink sapphire.
Why Experts Disagree on Padparadscha Sapphire
Much of the article deals with disagreement over the name itself. Color exists on a continuum, and the major laboratories each publish their own descriptive criteria. Lighting, cutting, and the reference image each viewer carries in memory all affect what is seen. Two honest specialists can examine the same stone and reach different conclusions. For that reason, Rahul writes, the laboratory report on any significant padparadscha matters a great deal, and so does the name of the laboratory that issued it.
Origin and Treatment
The feature covers sources beyond Sri Lanka. Madagascar came to prominence in the late 1990s, and parts of East Africa now contribute good stones as well. It also addresses treatment directly. Heating is widely accepted in the sapphire trade when it is disclosed, while an unheated padparadscha with a clean report from a respected laboratory ranks at the top of the category.
"When a stone's whole identity rests on a soft, naturally occurring color, how that color came to be is not a footnote to the purchase; it is much of the purchase."
The article closes on what the eye adds once the paperwork has been read. It describes how the pink and orange of a genuine padparadscha appear to rest together in good, neutral light, and why the stone rewards patient observation as much as documentation.
The Stones in the Feature
The stones photographed for the article are from Caram's collection:
a 7-ct unheated padparadscha of Sri Lankan origin, with a report from the American Gemological Laboratories (AGL)
the "Lotus Promise," a 10-ct padparadscha recognized by SSEF for an exceptional balance of size, color, and clarity, shown both loose and mounted in a ring with diamond accents
an unheated Ceylon padparadscha of approximately 20 cts, with an SSEF report and appendix letter recognizing its combination of size, color, and purity
For a longer look at how Caram evaluates these stones, read our guide, Padparadscha Sapphires: Understanding the Rarest Color in the Sapphire Family. If you are considering a padparadscha, or would like a second opinion on one you already own, we invite you to begin with a private consultation.
Rahul Jain is the seventh-generation director of Caram, a family house of rare colored gemstones and bespoke jewelry founded in Idar-Oberstein in 1975. He advises collectors, inheritors, and trade buyers from Hong Kong and Germany. Learn more about Caram's heritage or schedule a consultation.
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