Sapphire
Retired1996-1997 · Color No. 116
Introducing Sapphire, made by The Fiesta Tableware Company from 1996 to 1997. It's a deep and luxurious shade of blue, reminiscent of the precious gemstone it's named after. Sapphire adds a touch of opulence and sophistication to any tablescape. Mix and match Sapphire with colors like White and Shamrock for a classic and elegant table setting, or pair it with Sunflower and Tangerine for a bold and dynamic combination.
Production
Sapphire was retired in 1997, so it is a hunt for secondhand pieces now. Fiesta Factory Direct is where the colors still being made are, if you are filling a set.
Shop Fiesta Factory Direct (opens in a new tab)Notes on Sapphire
Sapphire had the shortest run of any regular Fiesta color - introduced in 1996, gone in 1997. One year. That alone makes it one of the most sought-after Post 86 colors, and it's the one people are most often surprised to learn existed. It's a deep, genuinely vivid blue, much brighter and more saturated than Cobalt, which is what makes it striking. Lapis, introduced in 2013, is the closest thing Fiesta has made since, though Lapis is calmer. If you see Sapphire listed cheaply, look twice - it's frequently confused with the more common Cobalt.
Using Sapphire on a table
Sapphire carries enough color to lead a table on its own. Use it for the plates and let quieter pieces do the rest; two or three settings of it go a long way. Its mid lightness (L* 33) means most food reads against it without either washing out or vanishing. It separates strongly from a white cloth (8.3:1) and less so from dark wood.
Below, 5 combinations built only from colors Fiesta has actually produced. Each says which rule it follows, and which pieces you can still buy today.
The pairing in its own description
Named in the descriptionThese colors are named alongside Sapphire in this guide's description of it.
Buy these to go with it
Sapphire was retired in 1997, but these are all in production now - the set you can actually finish buying.
Opposite on the wheel
Ivory sits roughly opposite Sapphire in hue, which is the highest-contrast pairing the palette offers. The neutrals keep it from shouting.
All blue
Every color here is from the blue family, arranged light to dark. A single-family table reads calm and deliberate rather than busy.
- Sky
- Peacock
-
Your color Sapphire
- Blue (Cobalt)
Three-way split
Claret and Forest Green sit about a third of the way around the color wheel from Sapphire in each direction. Evenly spaced hues stay lively without any one taking over.
- White
-
Your color Sapphire
- Forest Green
- Claret
Where Sapphire sits in the line
Sapphire arrived while Periwinkle Blue was still in production, and is darker and more vivid than it - a complete change of direction rather than a reformulation (ΔE 38.2). It lasted 1 year where the median for its era is 7, which is why it turns up so rarely. What else happened at the company in 1996 →
Closest colors in the palette
Ranked by CIEDE2000 (ΔE) against Sapphire. Under about ΔE 5 two colors are hard to tell apart side by side - useful when you are identifying an unmarked piece.
On the table alongside Sapphire
12 colors were in production at the same time. The 10 nearest in the timeline: