Sapphire Price per Carat: What 29,241 Listings Ask
What independent sellers ask for heated and unheated sapphires, by color, size and origin, read listing by listing on October 7, 2026.
A 1 to 2 carat blue sapphire typically asks $1,170 to $2,780 a carat heated and $890 to $3,780 unheated. Those are the middle listings at independent sellers, read on October 7, 2026. Single stones run from $112 to $8,925 a carat, because color, size, treatment and origin all move the price.
| Asking price per carat | Heated | Unheated |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 1.99 ct, typical ask | $1,170 to $2,780 | $890 to $3,780 |
| 1 to 1.99 ct, full span | $112 to $6,757 | $136 to $8,925 |
| 2 to 2.99 ct, typical ask | $2,080 to $3,850 | $1,800 to $7,220 |
| 2 to 2.99 ct, full span | $200 to $6,128 | $160 to $15,500 |
| 3 to 4.99 ct, typical ask | $3,060 to $4,330 | $3,070 to $6,120 |
| 3 to 4.99 ct, full span | $200 to $8,250 | $451 to $26,000 |
| Listings read, 1 to 4.99 ct | 5,337 | 2,135 |
How much is a sapphire worth per carat?
It depends on four things you can check: color, weight, treatment and origin. The price charts we found give ranges with no stone count behind them, so we read listings instead: 29,241 priced sapphires at five independent sellers, on October 7, 2026, including 12,666 priced blue ones. Faceted single stones, treatment stated.
- Typical ask is each seller's middle listing, from the lowest seller to the highest.
- Full span is the cheapest and the dearest single listing.
- Asked, not sold. These are list prices, not closed sales.
The sellers don't agree. For a heated 1 to 2 carat blue, one seller's middle listing asks $1,173 a carat and another's $2,779. One seller also holds 93 percent of the listings, so we never print a single average. A price list describes one seller's stock, not the market, and ours stays out of the tables. For the wider picture, see our colored gemstone market statistics.
What does each sapphire color cost per carat?
Color moves the price first. From 1 to 2.99 carats, heated and unheated together, each color as the seller names it:
| Color | Typical ask | Full span |
|---|---|---|
| Padparadscha | $2,380 to $4,900 | $416 to $15,500 |
| Blue | $1,320 to $2,900 | $112 to $15,500 |
| Pink | $1,280 to $2,710 | $150 to $8,670 |
| Purple | $1,000 to $3,270 | $85 to $4,950 |
| Green | $990 to $1,700 | $150 to $4,303 |
| Yellow | $600 to $1,250 | $70 to $3,642 |
Padparadscha asks the most, yellow the least. White and orange get no figure: fewer than three sellers list enough of them. Inside blue, the top prices go to a velvety blue to violetish blue of medium to medium-dark tone. Greenish, grayish, very pale or very dark stones fill the bottom of the span.
We print no price by trade name, since sellers don't use the names the same way: see cornflower vs royal blue, then our cornflower blue and royal blue sapphires.
How much more does an unheated sapphire cost?
Less than the word suggests, and sometimes nothing. At least 95 percent of blue sapphires are treated in some way, mostly by heat, so assume heat unless a laboratory report says otherwise.
Between 1 and 2 carats, three sellers list enough of both. The middle unheated blue asks 75 percent more at the first, 36 percent more at the second and 29 percent less at the third, whose small unheated stones are more often pale. Color is priced before treatment.
What we measured
Unheated against heated, seller by seller
First seller
75% more
Second seller
36% more
Third seller, the largest
29% less
Middle asking price per carat of unheated blue sapphires against heated ones, 1 to 2 carats, at three sellers, read on October 7, 2026. Asked, not sold.
The premium shows on large stones with strong color. Between 3 and 5 carats, the dearest unheated listing asks $26,000 a carat and the dearest heated one $8,250. Diffusion-treated sapphires sit one level below heated ones, with no figure here: a single seller lists them as such. The full comparison is in heated vs unheated sapphire.
What does Ceylon origin add to the price?
On listings, nothing by itself, because Ceylon is most of the market. Between 1 and 2 carats, 82 percent of the heated blue sapphires we read are listed as Sri Lankan.
What we counted
Heated blue sapphires, by declared origin
Heated blue sapphires of 1 to 1.99 carats listed by four independent sellers, read on October 7, 2026. Origins as declared by the sellers, not verified.
- Ceylon, heated, 1 to 1.99 ct. 2,598 listings at three sellers, typical ask $1,350 to $2,790 a carat: the band of all origins together.
- Ceylon, unheated, 1 to 1.99 ct. 871 listings, typical ask $800 to $3,630.
- Madagascar, Burma, Kashmir. Fewer than three sellers list enough of them for a figure.
Origin counts on untreated stones. In some markets, untreated sapphires from Kashmir, Burma and Sri Lanka are valued above equal stones from elsewhere. But a place name on a listing is the seller's word until a report confirms it. More in our Ceylon sapphire guide.
Why does the price per carat climb with size?
Because large fine sapphires are rare. A fine 5 carat blue sapphire sells for about five times more per carat than a fine 1 carat one. A commercial 5 carat stone sells for only about twice as much per carat.
The listings show the same slope. At each of three sellers, the middle heated blue asks 1.6 to 2.6 times more per carat between 3 and 5 carats than between 1 and 2.
One trap. Cutters often give up proportions to keep weight, and a stone cut too shallow shows a window, a see-through patch of weak color. Look at the stone face-up, not only at the carats. Cut and clarity are in our complete guide to sapphire.
Real stones from our catalogue, drawn to the same scale from our measurements.
1.56 and 1.55 carats: the same weight. Priced by the carat, they would cost the same, yet face-up the right one shows about a quarter more surface. The left one keeps more of its weight in its depth, 4.9 mm against 3.5.
1.10, 2.01 and 3.03 carats, one for each weight band of the table at the top. Almost three times the weight, but the longest is only about 1.4 times the length of the lightest.
Stones are drawn in proportion to their measured length. On a screen this is not life size. Stock changes, so these are examples.
How do you check a sapphire quote?
- Convert it to a price per carat. Divide the price by the weight. Total prices can't be compared across sizes.
- Get the treatment in writing. Heated or unheated decides which column you compare with.
- Find the band. Same color, same weight range, same treatment. A quote far below the span calls for one question: is it synthetic or diffusion-treated?
- Pay for origin or for unheated only when it is on a report. With us, the stone goes to an independent outside laboratory after you buy, and the report ships with it: see our certification policy.
Now try it on a quote you were given:
Quote check
Check a blue sapphire quote
Enter the quote you were given. It is turned into a price per carat and placed among the asking prices we read.
Divide the quote by the weight to get a price per carat, then find its band: same weight range, same treatment.
Treatment stated on the quote
Enter the treatment, the weight and the asked price.
| Asking price per carat | Heated | Unheated |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 1.99 ct, typical ask | $1,170 to $2,780 | $890 to $3,780 |
| 1 to 1.99 ct, full span | $112 to $6,757 | $136 to $8,925 |
| 2 to 2.99 ct, typical ask | $2,080 to $3,850 | $1,800 to $7,220 |
| 2 to 2.99 ct, full span | $200 to $6,128 | $160 to $15,500 |
| 3 to 4.99 ct, typical ask | $3,060 to $4,330 | $3,070 to $6,120 |
| 3 to 4.99 ct, full span | $200 to $8,250 | $451 to $26,000 |
Typical ask is each seller’s middle listing, from the lowest middle to the highest. Full span is the cheapest and the dearest single listing.
Asking prices read on 12,666 listings at five independent sellers on October 7, 2026. Asked, not sold. This places a quote, it does not value a stone.
Six questions to send before you accept a sapphire price
6 points
A message ready to send to the seller, with all the questions.
See the message
Hello, I am interested in this sapphire. Before I decide, could you answer a few questions in writing? 1. What are the total price and the exact weight in carats of this stone? 2. Has this sapphire been heated, or treated in any other way such as diffusion, and can you confirm it in writing? 3. Is this a natural sapphire, not a synthetic one? 4. Can you send photos or a short video of this exact stone face-up in daylight, tilted, so I can see its color and any window? 5. What are its length, width and depth in millimeters? 6. Are the origin and the absence of heat written on a report from an independent outside laboratory, or are they your own description? Thank you for your time.
For the red corundum, see ruby price per carat.
Quick answers
How much is a 1 carat sapphire worth?
How much is a 2 carat sapphire worth?
How much is a Ceylon sapphire worth per carat?
What is the most expensive sapphire color?
The bottom line
A sapphire price per carat only means something inside its band: same color, same weight, same treatment, same origin on paper. Find the band, then look at the stone, because the middle of a range is still somebody else's sapphire.
