Royal Blue

The Royal Blue is the most common mutation combination involving the Sapphire, and is a combination of Homozygous Recessive Larsen Sapphire and Gunning Black Velvet. The colour of this chinchilla strongly resembles that of a Sapphire with the exception that where the Black Velvet veiling coverage shows on the animal, a beautiful deep dark blue colour is seen. This colour is perhaps the most beautiful of the chinchilla mutations, and in it's finest state is a sight to behold. The Royal Blue is the main, albeit the only real viable combination colour of Sapphire, with all other combinations rarely or never seen on show tables.

The Sapphire, as has been stated, is a simple recessive Mutation, which only shows itself fully in the Homozygous state. A Heterozygous Sapphire, or a 'Sapphire Carrier' will resemble whatever the 'base' colouration the animal is which carries the single Sapphire gene. If this was a Standard, the chinchilla would look like a Standard, and if it were a Black Velvet, then it would look like a Black Velvet, etc, etc.

If you wish to breed Royal Blues, then the best method is to mate a Sapphire to a Black Velvet. All kits from this mating will carry a single Sapphire gene, and will therefore be either Black Velvets carrying Sapphire, or Standards carrying Sapphire. Once this mating has taken place, you have a selection of Sapphire carriers, some of which will be Black Velvets. If you then mate these to Sapphire animals, there are four possible combinations.

Mating	Progeny
Royal Blue x Standard	50% Black Velvet Sapphire carriers 50% Standard Sapphire carriers
Royal Blue x Standard Sapphire Carrier	25% Royal Blues 25% Sapphires 25% Black Velvet Sapphire carriers 25% Standard Sapphire Carriers
Royal Blue x Sapphire	50% Royal Blues 50% Sapphires
Sapphire x Black Velvet	50% Black Velvet Sapphire carriers 50% Standard Sapphire Carriers
Sapphire x Black Velvet Sapphire Carrier	25% Royal Blues 25% Sapphires 25% Black Velvet Sapphire carriers 25% Standard Sapphire Carriers

Royal Blues are a complex mutation to breed, since they involve the Sapphire mutation which in itself

is a recessive. It is imperative that when attempting to breed a Royal Blue, that only the finest examples of Sapphire and Black Velvet are used, paying specific attention to the fur qualities, and the clarity of your chinchillas. The darkening effect which the Black Velvet adds to the Sapphire to become the Royal Blue is not attractive if the clarity of colour is poor and if the animal is tinged or not blue (the blue hue which all chinchillas should have, if of high quality).

Royal Blues possess the same problems as the Sapphires, namely that they have a tendency to be small and also to have a soft fur type. Again this does not have to be the case if the best Standards and Black Velvets are used in their breeding lines, and only the best Sapphire carriers produced selected for breeding. It is through this method of selection, using the best Standards and Black Velvets (on occasion) with our Sapphires that we have managed to breed large, blocky , well-furred Sapphire carriers, which when bred together yield the best possible results in producing Sapphires and Royal Blues.

In our experience, we have noted that a single Sapphire gene, giving you a Sapphire Carrier animal, tends to 'dilute' the colouration of the chinchilla, be it a Standard or Black Velvet, often diluting, or reducing the colour-phase from what should be an intensely dark Black Velvet or dark Standard, to being not such an intense Black or a Medium-Dark or Medium Standard. We have found this over the years, since the only medium colour phase Standards we produce are the Sapphire carriers, and these are bred from Sapphires mated to our best Standards, which are generally our Dark and Extra-darks.