Royal Blue Burmese Sapphire
Vintage 1950s Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1910s Edwardian Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1960s Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1960s French Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Engagement Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Dangle Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Modern Bracelets
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Spinel, Platinum
2010s North American Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Chinese Retro Cocktail Rings
Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Artist Solitaire Rings
Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1930s North American Engagement Rings
Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Burmese Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Star Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Sapphire
2010s American Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold
1990s Burmese Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Stud Earrings
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Stud Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s American Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Gold
20th Century Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Engagement Rings
Sapphire, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1950s Unknown Retro Cluster Rings
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s British Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s French Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, White Diamond, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century German Modern Cocktail Rings
Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Steel
Antique Early 1900s American Belle Époque Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire
Vintage 1930s British Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Antique Late 19th Century English Victorian Bangles
21st Century and Contemporary Burmese Modern Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire
Late 20th Century Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s Italian Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s Thai Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Dangle Earrings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Japanese Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s American Stud Earrings
Sapphire, Platinum
Early 20th Century Burmese Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, White Diamond, Diamond, Platinum
Vintage 1920s Unknown Art Deco Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Engagement Rings
Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, Rose Gold
2010s American Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Star Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Fashion Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Tanzanite, Platinum
2010s Hong Kong Contemporary Loose Gemstones
Blue Sapphire
2010s Hong Kong Modern Solitaire Rings
Blue Sapphire
2010s Hong Kong Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Blue Sapphire
2010s Hong Kong Contemporary Cluster Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
Royal Blue Burmese Sapphire For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Royal Blue 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.
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Whether or not royal blue and sapphire blue are the same color is largely a matter of personal perception and how the names are used. Generally, both colors describe a deep bright blue. You may see them used generally, but manufacturers of paints, apparel and other items that come in many hues may refer to one blue as royal and another as sapphire.
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