Sapphire Price Per Carat: Dealer Ranges and Auction Records

Sapphire price per carat runs from about $15 for low-quality material to more than $270,000 for the highest per-carat result on record at auction, a Kashmir stone.

Most public figures are dealer estimates or auction results. In 2022, a dealer told Rapaport that a 1-carat heated stone with great color averaged $500 to $800 per carat at retail. Auction records for Kashmir, Burmese and Ceylon stones sit in five and six figures per carat.

Every figure below names its source. Dealer estimates are from 2022 and are calibration points, not a price list. Auction results are single stones.

Anywhere from $15 to a few thousand dollars, depending on quality, treatment and origin. In 2022, one dealer told Rapaport that a 1-carat heated stone with great color averaged $500 to $800 at retail.

A 1-carat Kashmir with a top-lab report is a different market, and we found no reliable public range for it.

In one dealer's estimates, the range at 3 to 5 carats is about 1.9 to 2.7 times the range at 1 to 2 carats (our arithmetic). The dealer noted that 3 to 5 carat stones are harder to source. We found no reliable public multiple above that size.

Blue is the reference market, and the color with the most public price data.

Padparadscha: auction record of $97,478 per carat for an 8.01-carat Sri Lankan stone at Sotheby's Hong Kong in 2017, per Lotus Gemology. Ask for a report that addresses beryllium diffusion.

For pink, yellow, orange, green and color-change sapphires, we found no reliable public price series, so we do not publish a range. Compare each stone on its own report.

We found no public benchmark for Montana, Australia, Thailand or Nigeria. Judge each stone on its report.

The top Kashmir sapphires sell in six figures per carat at auction. In May 2025, Christie's Hong Kong sold the 35.09-carat "Regent Kashmir" for about $9.5 million, roughly $271,500 per carat. Christie's called it a world record per carat for a sapphire, and we found no higher result since.

The total-price record is still the 392.52-carat Ceylon "Blue Belle of Asia," sold by Christie's Geneva in 2014 for $17.3 million.

At the fine tier, unheated stones sat roughly 25 to 67% above heated ones (our arithmetic), based on 2022 estimates from Armil Sammoon of Sapphire Capital Group, in Rapaport. GIA calls heating an accepted treatment, and says lab confirmation of no heat adds to a fine sapphire's rarity and value.

For exceptional stones the gap can be much wider, and no public figure pins it down. Full detail in Heated vs. Unheated Sapphire.

Beryllium-diffused stones are a separate category. They are not "heated" sapphires in the usual sense, so never compare their price with the figures above.

Dividing a ring's price by its carats also counts the maker, the diamonds and the mount. At Bonhams Paris on October 29, 2026, a Cartier ring with an 11.5-carat Madagascar sapphire made about €17,861 per carat, and a Chaumet ring with a 13.70-carat Sri Lankan sapphire about €3,127 (our arithmetic). Reports on the first stone cited no indications of treatment, and on the second no indications of heating. We cannot say which part drove the gap.

For fundamentals, read What Is Sapphire? and Ruby vs. Sapphire. To compare, see Ruby Price Per Carat.

How much is a sapphire worth per carat? From about $15 in one dealer's 2022 estimate to about $271,500 for the Regent Kashmir at auction in 2025. Where a stone falls depends on quality, treatment, origin and size.

How much is a 1-carat sapphire worth? In 2022, dealers quoted $15 to $700 across qualities, and $500 to $800 at retail for a heated stone with great color. One dealer put fine unheated stones of 1 to 2 carats at $800 to $2,500 per carat.

Why are Kashmir sapphires so expensive? According to Christie's, the deposit was mined mainly from 1882 to 1887 and nothing of note has been found since 1927. Their velvety blue is also highly prized.

What color sapphire is most expensive? The highest per-carat auction result we found is for a blue Kashmir stone. The padparadscha record is $97,478 per carat.