PADPARADSCHA
Padparadscha is an extremely rare and most prized variety of sapphire. It is also one of the most expensive gems in the world, with prices similar to those of Alexandrites and rubies.
Padparadscha has a beautiful pinkish-orange color. The term “padparadscha” is derived from the Sinhalese word for aquatic lotus blossom (Nelumbo Nucifera ‘Speciosa’), which has an unusual salmon color. This term has come from the word Padmarag (padma = lotus; raga = color) in Sanskrit which means ‘one having the colour of a lotus’.
True padparadscha displays a delicate mixture of orange and pink. Some retailers sell rich orange colored sapphires as padparadscha. This is misleading. Quality stones will have a uniform, pure pink/ orange color and will be much 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 with a particular color of sapphire.
GEMOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF PADPARADSCHA
Padparadscha belongs to Corundum species of gems and it is crystalline rock-forming mineral of aluminum oxide (A1203) with traces of iron, vanadium, chromium and titanium as impurities and those impurities are giving the colour. Pinkish orange colour of Padparadscha is given due to Chromium 3+ ions (Cr3+) and Iron 3+ ions (Fe3+) and colour centers in the crystal system.
Because of high hardness of Padparadscha (pure corundum have 9.0 on the Mohs scale), it can scratch almost every other mineral except Diamond. In addition to its hardness, Padparadscha is unusual for its density of 4.00 g/cm3, which is very high for a transparent mineral composed of the low-atomic mass elements aluminium and oxygen.
Category: Oxide mineral Formula, (Repeating unit) – Aluminium oxide, A1203
Crystal system: Trigonal
Crystal class: Hexagonal
IDENTIFICATION
Color: Pinkish orange to orangey pink with pastel tones and low to medium saturations.
Crystal habit: Steep by pyramidal, tabular, prismatic, rhombohedral crystals, massive or granular.
Causes of Colour: Orangey pink, Cr3+, Fe3+, and color centers in the crystal structure.
Twinning: Polysynthetic twinning common
Cleavage: None – parting in 3 directions
Fracture: Conchoidal to uneven
Tenacity: Brittle Mohs scale
Hardness: 9
Luster: Adamantine to vitreous
Streak: White
Diaphaneity: Transparent, translucent to opaque
Specific gravity: 3.95 -4.00
Optical properties: Uniaxial (→)
Refractive index: no = 1.767-1.772 nɛ= 1.759-1.763
Birefringence: 0.008
Pleochroism: Weakly Dichroic : Shades of body colour
Melting point: 2044 °C
Fusibility: Infusible
Solubility: Insoluble
Other characteristics: May fluoresce or phosphorescence under UV light
SWUV: Inert
LWUV: Inert to strong orangy red, High electrical resistance, High thermal conductivity
Absorption spectrum: Containing Cr 3+, show chromium spectrum
BENEFITS OF WEARING PADPARADSCHA
According to ancient believes, Padparadscha is considered to be one of the most valuable and costly sapphire just not because of its rarity, but also due to its powerful effect it has on the person wearing it. Padparadscha is a gentle stone with enormous energy that is said to have many positive attributes. Padparadscha considered to be one of the most important means to remove negative emotions and feelings of a person and replaces with peace, love and happiness.
Padparadscha helps the wearer to relate with spirituality. It aids in opening the third-eye chakra of a person. This gemstone brings sincerity and consistency in a person. It is being traditionally considered as the sign of royalty. Wearing a Padparadscha gives extremely powerful benefits to the wearer. It is a gem for those who are ambitious and want to develop leadership qualities. It increases the zest for life, improves health, makes one very assertive and confident, and improves social status to great levels.
TREATMENTS OF PADPARADSCHA
⚫ There are different treatments that are performed on this stone to improve color and other properties of the stone and the most common treatment is beryllium treatment. The core intention behind Applying this treatment is to replicate the color of the stone. Since, pink or orange are two top colors that are adjusted with this stone to replicate the color. Generally, a beryllium treated padparadscha stone saturation will be too dark to look like original stone.
⚫ Padparadscha are often heated as well.
⚫ Irradiation of pink sapphire used to obtain padparadscha colour to the gem.
⚫ Radioactive bombardment is used much less often for strengthening the yellow colour of sapphire and the creation of an orange tint in pink chromium-rich stones, which is characteristic for padparadscha sapphires. Padparadscha with natural colors or non- diffusion heat treatments tend to show clouds of pink and orange hues inside the gem. Because of the apparent size of the market, suspicious stones should be sent to laboratories for proper confirmation of color origin. There are investigations to find out what process is being used to cause the surface coloration, and whether the surface coloration is stable.
HOW TO IDENTIFY A REAL PADPARADSCHA STONE
⚫ Padparadscha routinely produced by beryllium diffusion, usually shows a yellow-orangey rim – pink core when immersed.
⚫ Once padparadscha is produced by irradiation of pink sapphire, colour fading permanently if heated.
⚫ The colour acquired in Radioactive bombardment is unstable and soon fades in sunlight.
⚫ New form of heat treatment which has undergone in Madagascar, that alters pink sapphires’ color into highly desirable pink/orange appears to be quite identifiable. The high temperature treatment causes inclusions to have identifiable features such as glassy residues and expansion fractures that occur during high-temperature heating.
ORIGINS OF PADPARADSCHA STONES
Many knowledgeable sources argue that the only real padparadscha can be found in Sri Lanka as padparadscha have traditionally come from Sri Lanka. However, pinkish orange sapphires have also been found in Madagascar, at the Quy Chau mines in Vietnam, and in the Tunduru district of the Umba Valley in northeast Tanzania. The padparadscha from Tanzania tends to be browner and is sometimes called African pad.
