Gubelin Sapphire
Vintage 1950s Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1960s Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1960s Swiss Tennis Bracelets
Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1960s Swiss Modern Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1960s Swiss Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Sapphire, Platinum
Early 2000s European Modernist Fashion Rings
Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1960s Swiss Bangles
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Platinum
20th Century Swiss Modern Band Rings
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1980s Swiss Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Swiss Modern Link Necklaces
Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Cocktail Rings
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
Vintage 1940s Swiss Retro Brooches
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, Platinum
2010s Swiss Contemporary Dangle Earrings
Diamond, Morganite, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Swiss Modern Brooches
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Swiss Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Crystal, Sapphire, Rock Crystal, Yellow Diamond, Platinum
Mid-20th Century Swiss Modern Retro Bracelets
Diamond, Emerald, Multi-gemstone, Ruby, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century Band Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1950s Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, White Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Loose Gemstones
Blue Sapphire
2010s Italian Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary French Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1960s Modern Brooches
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Art Deco Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire
2010s Swiss Contemporary Band Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire
2010s Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s American Three-Stone Rings
Emerald, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century Brooches
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Stud Earrings
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s American Solitaire Rings
Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, White Gold
Vintage 1980s Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s American Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s American Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s British Belle Époque Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
20th Century Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1920s Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
20th Century Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Fashion Rings
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold
2010s American Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Late 20th Century European Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, White Gold
2010s Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1970s Retro More Rings
White Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Thai Fashion Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Sapphire, Platinum
Early 20th Century Wrist Watches
Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1920s American Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
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Gubelin Sapphire For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Gubelin 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.