Ceylon Ruby
Vintage 1950s Italian Link Bracelets
Diamond, White Diamond, Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Asian Engagement Rings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Unknown Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Ruby
1990s Brooches
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique 1850s British Victorian Pendant Necklaces
Ruby, Natural Pearl, Pearl, White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 15k Gol...
2010s German Aesthetic Movement Chandelier Earrings
Moonstone, Ruby, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Sri Lankan Aesthetic Movement Solitaire Rings
Ruby, Star Ruby, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Cocktail Rings
White Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Ruby, Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary American Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique 19th Century French Victorian Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Bracelets
Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1930s Unknown Brooches
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Palladium, Platinum, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Beaded Bracelets
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1920s Unknown Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Sapphire, Ruby, Silver, Rose Gold
Mid-20th Century American Retro Clip-on Earrings
Ruby, Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1920s European Art Deco Cluster Rings
Ruby, 14k Gold
Early 20th Century American Art Nouveau Pendant Necklaces
Sapphire, Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, 14k Gold, Silver
2010s Thai Contemporary Solitaire Rings
Sapphire, Ruby, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Diamond, Pink Diamond, Emerald, R...
21st Century and Contemporary Sri Lankan Contemporary Pendant Necklaces
Pink Sapphire, Ruby, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
Vintage 1940s Unknown Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Yellow Sapphire, Ruby, Diamond, Yellow Gold, White Gold, 14k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Rings
White Diamond, Ruby, Star Ruby, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s American Contemporary Drop Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Contemporary Fashion Rings
Ruby, Diamond, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Link Bracelets
Sapphire, Diamond, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold, P...
Antique 1880s Fashion Rings
18k Gold
20th Century Italian Brooches
Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Cocktail Rings
Ruby, Pink Sapphire
Antique 1890s British Late Victorian Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Gold
Antique 1890s British Late Victorian Cufflinks
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1920s French Art Deco Brooches
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Turkish Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 24k Gold
Antique 1890s British Late Victorian Cufflinks
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1950s Italian Revival Clip-on Earrings
Ruby, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique 1860s British Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Silver
Vintage 1940s American Cocktail Rings
Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Ruby, Rubelite, Peridot, Garnet, Emerald, Cit...
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Platinum
Antique Late 19th Century Art Nouveau Brooches
Diamond, Sapphire, Ruby, Natural Pearl, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s Unknown Contemporary More Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
Vintage 1980s Unknown Contemporary More Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Drop Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s Engagement Rings
Ruby, Star Ruby, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1970s Italian Chain Necklaces
Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Chain Necklaces
Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 20th Century Unknown Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Yellow Gold
Early 20th Century Art Deco Brooches
Sapphire, Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Platinum
Mid-20th Century Unknown Contemporary Band Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1950s Unknown Retro Clip-on Earrings
Ruby, Sapphire, 14k Gold
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Cocktail Rings
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Ruby, Rose Gold, 14k Gold
Antique Late 19th Century English Victorian Brooches
Diamond, Opal, Ruby, Sapphire, Gold, 9k Gold, Rose Gold
Mid-20th Century French Retro Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Ye...
2010s American Contemporary Stud Earrings
Ruby, Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
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Ceylon Ruby For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Ceylon Ruby?
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.