Pure pink sapphire is colored by very small quantities of chromium, and with increasing amounts of chromium it forms a continuous color range with ruby. Tiny amounts of iron may produce pink orange stones called padparadscha, or iron and titanium impurities together may make a purplish stone. Pink sapphires are often cut with a deep profile.

Pink sapphires, from a very pale and delicate pink to a near-red, occur in Sri Lanka, Burma, and East Africa.

Like rubies pink sapphires are believed to ward off ill-health and misfortune. For the wearer to gain the benefit of the stone, however, it is thought necessary for it to be- worn directly on the Skin. Therefore stones are cut so that, when set in a piece of jewellery, the back makes contact with the skin.