Burmese Sapphire
2010s Burmese Beaded Necklaces
Blue Sapphire
Vintage 1970s Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire
Antique Late 19th Century Unknown Late Victorian Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Art Deco Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Early 2000s Unknown Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Hong Kong Contemporary Stud Earrings
Diamond, Opal, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Fashion Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Solitaire Rings
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Bridal Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1910s Edwardian Cocktail Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Antique 1880s Victorian Cocktail Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1910s Edwardian Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Late 20th Century Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
2010s Burmese Contemporary Stud Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
20th Century American Cocktail Rings
White Diamond, Emerald, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1920s American Art Deco Cocktail Rings
White Diamond, Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Platinum
20th Century Unknown Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold
Vintage 1910s Edwardian Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Antique 1890s Victorian Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique 1860s Victorian Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
Vintage 1950s Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Platinum
Antique Early 1900s French Victorian Fashion Rings
Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s British Engagement Rings
Sapphire, 22k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Loose Gemstones
Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern More Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American More Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
1990s Italian Cluster Rings
Sapphire, Diamond, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Victorian Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Rose Gold, Silver
Antique Early 1900s Unknown Belle Époque Link Bracelets
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Cluster Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1920s Italian Art Deco Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Hong Kong Modern Stud Earrings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Swiss Contemporary Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold, Gold
1990s American Three-Stone Rings
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
2010s Stud Earrings
White Diamond, Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Platinum
Late 20th Century Band Rings
Sapphire, Platinum
1990s American Cocktail Rings
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
20th Century Engagement Rings
Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum
Vintage 1950s Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Antique Early 1900s Edwardian Engagement Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum
Late 20th Century French Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1940s American Retro Brooches
Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1980s Italian Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
20th Century Unknown Cocktail Rings
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Cocktail Rings
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
Antique Late 19th Century Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Belgian Contemporary Fashion Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Jade, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Band Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s American Modern Stud Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
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Burmese Sapphire For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a 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.