5 Carat Unheated Ceylon Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire
2010s American Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Antique 19th Century Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Platinum
20th Century Unknown Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1910s Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Antique 19th Century French Victorian Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique Late 19th Century French Belle Époque Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yello...
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Solitaire Rings
Pink Sapphire, White Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
20th Century Italian Contemporary Bangles
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1920s European Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Early 2000s American Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Star Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
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2010s Sri Lankan Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Sri Lankan Modern Loose Gemstones
Sapphire
2010s Sri Lankan Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire
Mid-20th Century Solitaire Rings
Black Diamond, Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Sri Lankan Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Purple Sapphire, Padparadscha Sapphire
Mid-20th Century Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold
Early 2000s French Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Rose Gold
2010s Sri Lankan Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Purple Sapphire, Padparadscha Sapphire
2010s Sri Lankan Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Purple Sapphire, Padparadscha Sapphire , Ruby
2010s Sri Lankan Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Purple Sapphire
2010s Sri Lankan Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire
Antique 1880s Victorian Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s Sri Lankan Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Rose Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Sri Lankan Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Purple Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Sri Lankan Modern Engagement Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Sri Lankan Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire
2010s Sri Lankan Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire
Vintage 1920s Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Malagasy Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Alexandrite, Green Sapphire, Purple Sapphire
2010s Sri Lankan Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Purple Sapphire, Padparadscha Sapphire
Vintage 1970s Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century Retro Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Late 20th Century Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
20th Century Sri Lankan Contemporary Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire
Vintage 1920s Cluster Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1930s Russian Art Deco Drop Necklaces
Sapphire
Antique 1890s Edwardian Fashion Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
20th Century American Dome Rings
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Antique Late 19th Century Russian Victorian Cluster Rings
Blue Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Antique 19th Century Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1940s French Retro Signet Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow ...
2010s Sri Lankan Loose Gemstones
Star Sapphire
Early 2000s American Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
Late 20th Century Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Italian Modern Engagement Rings
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1950s American Retro Cocktail Rings
Pink Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Sri Lankan Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Sri Lankan Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Mid-20th Century Cocktail Rings
Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
2010s Sri Lankan Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Sri Lankan Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Mid-20th Century Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s Sri Lankan Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Mid-20th Century American Art Deco Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Mid-20th Century American Cocktail Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Sapphire, White Diamond, Yellow Diamond, 18k Gol...
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2010s Art Deco Cocktail Rings
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2010s Italian Boots
1990s Italian Day Dresses
20th Century Chain Necklaces
Diamond, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s French Structured Shoulder Bags
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Solitaire Rings
Pink Diamond, White Diamond, Diamond, Rose Gold
1960s American Maxi Dress
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Vintage 1910s European Retro Choker Necklaces
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5 Carat Unheated Ceylon Sapphire For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a 5 Carat Unheated Ceylon 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.
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