Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
1910s Unknown Edwardian Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
1920s Unknown Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
1920s Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, Platinum
1920s Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
Early 20th Century Unknown Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
1920s Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, Platinum
1920s Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
1910s British Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, Gold
1880s Victorian Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
15th Century and Earlier Medieval Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, Yellow Gold, Gold
15th Century and Earlier Medieval Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, Gold
1890s American Victorian Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Star Sapphire, 14k Gold
1920s Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, Star Sapphire, Platinum
15th Century and Earlier Unknown Medieval Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Yellow Gold, Gold
1920s Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Aquamarine, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
15th Century and Earlier Unknown Medieval Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, 18k Gold
15th Century and Earlier Unknown Medieval Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, Yellow Gold
Late 19th Century Victorian Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, 14k Gold, Gold
1880s Edwardian Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, Rose Gold
1920s Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Early 1900s Swedish Art Nouveau Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum, White Gold, 18k Gold
Late 19th Century Victorian Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, 10k Gold, Rose Gold
1910s Swedish Art Nouveau Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
1920s German Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
Late 19th Century Victorian Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Blue Sapphire, Gold, 9k Gold
Early 1900s Swedish Art Nouveau Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Pearl, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
19th Century Edwardian Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold, Gold
1920s Art Nouveau Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold
1920s Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
1910s Swedish Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Pearl, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Early 19th Century European Baroque Revival Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Late 19th Century American Art Nouveau Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold
Early 20th Century European Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, Silver, 18k Gold
Early 20th Century European Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, Silver, 14k Gold
1920s American Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold
1920s Swedish Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold
1910s French Late Victorian Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Gold, 14k Gold, Platinum
1880s European Renaissance Revival Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, 18k Gold
1920s German Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Yellow Sapphire, Silver, 14k Gold
1920s British Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
1910s British Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, White Gold
1920s Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
1920s Art Deco Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
1920s Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold
1890s English Victorian Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Pink Sapphire, 9k Gold, Rose Gold
Early 20th Century Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Aquamarine, Diamond, Platinum
Early 20th Century Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Aquamarine, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 20th Century Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Platinum
Early 20th Century Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, 14k Gold, White Gold, Gold
Early 20th Century Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Platinum
Early 20th Century Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Sapphire, 14k Gold, Rose Gold, Gold
Early 20th Century Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, 14k Gold, White Gold, Gold
Early 20th Century British Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Early 20th Century French Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, Platinum
Late 19th Century European Victorian Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Yellow Sapphire, Gold, Yellow Gold
1880s Victorian Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Sapphire, 18k Gold
Early 20th Century Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
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Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Antique Sapphire Solitaire Ring?
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.
Finding the Right Solitaire-rings for You
Even as jewelry trends have come and gone, antique and vintage diamond solitaire rings are a classic fashion piece. Although enduringly popular as an engagement ring style, a solitaire ring — whether it's an emerald solitaire ring, a sapphire solitaire ring or another iteration — makes a fantastic addition to any outfit with a variety of shapes and settings to explore.
Solitaire rings have a single stone setting and a minimalistic band in which pressure, bezel or prongs hold the stone in place. They have a long history in jewelry, such as an example discovered in Israel with a single amethyst that could be as old as the third century A.D.
Simple gold rings with single diamonds were prized possessions in Ancient Rome. However, it was not until the 1940s that engagement rings with a solitaire diamond setting became widely popular.
After the turmoil of the Great Depression and World War II led to a decline in diamond prices, De Beers saw an opportunity. The diamond magnate teamed up with the ad agency N.W. Ayer for the “A Diamond Is Forever” campaign. It was a sensation and cemented the solitaire diamond as the leading engagement ring. Statistics show that diamonds are the most common gemstones for engagement rings, preferred by 87 percent of people. (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.)
Today, the design of solitaire rings takes many forms, and those created by Cartier, Tiffany Co. and other internationally celebrated jewelry houses are particularly sought-after accessories. Though the single-stone setting remains the same, bands have become more detailed, with some containing other stones or even multiple diamonds. Art Deco, Art Nouveau and other art movements have influenced the design of solitaire rings over the years. However, the simplicity of this accessory remains timeless.
Browse 1stDibs for a unique selection of antique and vintage solitaire rings to accent any fashion choice.
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