Burmese Sapphire
Late 20th Century Unknown Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Indian British Colonial Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s French Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire
Late 20th Century Signet Rings
Sapphire, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1950s British Engagement Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum
20th Century Engagement Rings
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
Vintage 1970s Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Late 20th Century Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1920s Unknown Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Antique 1880s Victorian Three-Stone Rings
Sapphire, Yellow Gold, Silver
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Sapphire
Vintage 1950s Fashion Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1920s Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1950s Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1920s Unknown Art Deco Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1970s British Cocktail Rings
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Engagement Rings
Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1980s French Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, White Gold, Platinum
20th Century More Rings
Sapphire, Gold
Vintage 1910s Edwardian Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
Antique Early 1900s European Art Nouveau Cocktail Rings
Sapphire, Diamond, Silver, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Engagement Rings
Sapphire
Vintage 1910s French Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1960s Engagement Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Sapphire, Yellow Gold, Gold
Antique Mid-19th Century Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s French Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1950s French Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1950s English Retro Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1950s Unknown Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Engagement Rings
Sapphire, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Retro Bracelets
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Dangle Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
20th Century Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Burmese Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, White Gold
2010s Burmese Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1930s French Solitaire Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum
Antique Late 19th Century Victorian Cluster Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary European Artisan Fashion Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Engagement Rings
Ruby, Rubelite, Emerald, Pink Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Blue Diamond, Pur...
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow Gold, White Gold...
Vintage 1920s Unknown Art Deco Drop Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1930s French Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Platinum
20th Century Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Mid-20th Century American Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Beaded Bracelets
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Engagement Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1910s Edwardian Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Hong Kong Art Nouveau Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
20th Century Engagement Rings
Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1970s American Cluster Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum
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Burmese Sapphire For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Burmese Sapphire?
The Legacy of Sapphire in Jewelry Design
On 1stDibs, shop the bright blue gems that star in sapphire rings, sapphire necklaces and other vintage and antique sapphire jewelry.
Sapphires — the stone of choice for Napoleon, Princess Diana and Elizabeth Taylor — have been a favorite of aristocrats and the well-to-do since the time of the Ancient Greeks.
Picture a sapphire. If the stone you conjure is a deep cornflower blue, you’re seeing only part of the picture. Although blue Kashmirs are considered the most valuable, sapphires come in every color except red. No matter the hue, this very special gem is rich in history and beloved by royals (FYI, Princess Diana and Kate Middleton share an 11-carat sapphire engagement ring), so September babies are in very noble company.
America’s version of royalty — old money and celebrities — have also shown a predilection for the blue stones. In 1940, John D. Rockefeller Jr. had Cartier mount a 62-carat sapphire he had bought from an Indian maharajah in a brooch for his first wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller; in 2001, the piece sold for a then-record of $3,031,000 at Christie’s New York.
The grand dame of jewelry, Elizabeth Taylor had a passion for the gems that her lovers were happy to indulge. Second husband Michael Wilding gave her an engagement ring set with a cabochon sapphire, while Richard Burton famously presented her with a BVLGARI sautoir set with diamonds and sapphires, including at its center a cabochon Burmese weighing 52.72 carats. One of the star lots in the sale of Taylor’s jewels at the Christie’s New York in 2011, it sold for $5,906,500.
You don’t have to have blue blood or a bulging bank account, however, to get an eyeful of this much-coveted gem. A number of outstanding examples reside in public collections.
The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History owns the 423-carat Logan sapphire, a gift from the Guggenheim family, and the Hall sapphire and diamond necklace, designed by Harry Winston and featuring 36 fine, well-matched cushion-cut Sri Lankan sapphires weighing a combined 195 carats. Also in the collection is the Bismarck sapphire necklace, designed by Cartier and sporting a central sapphire weighing 98.6 carats, which Mona Von Bismarck donated to the museum.
Sapphires are composed of corundum. Their color derives from trace elements, such as iron, titanium, chromium, copper or magnesium. When the trace element produces a ruby hue, the stone is called, what else, a ruby. (which is, as mentioned above, why sapphires cannot be red by definition).
The allure of large gemstones endures throughout the periods characterized as vintage, and sapphire features frequently in vintage engagement rings. (On 1stDibs, a range of buying guides can be found for those in the market for antique engagement rings, vintage engagement rings or Art Deco engagement rings.)
Find an exquisite collection of vintage and antique sapphire jewelry on 1stDibs.