Whether it’s shifting millennial tastes, celebrity and princess endorsements, distaste for ‘blood diamonds’ or plain old economics, one thing is clear: the reign of the diamond solitaire is over. More affordable and coming in a range of colors, sapphires have been in vogue, rivaling diamonds as the stone of choice for brides this year.
Millennials search for authenticity may also play a role. Sapphires are rarer than diamonds, which have artificially high prices due to the limited supply released into the market each year and the tight grip of De Beers on the market. De Beers controls roughly half global diamond mines and sets prices for the rest of the industry by establishing a centralized grading and pricing of exchange that though which 80% of the worlds rough diamonds flow. It’s not exactly romantic.
Want romance? Try a Padparadscha Sapphire. With a pinkish orange hue, it is the rarest color of sapphire, named after the lotus flower, symbolizing beauty, faithfulness, prosperity, purity and eternity. She’ll definitely say yes.
