Burmese Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary European Fashion Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1920s Art Deco Link Bracelets
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Early 20th Century Burmese Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Fashion Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Contemporary Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, 14k Gold, Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1910s Edwardian Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Early 20th Century Art Deco Drop Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Singaporean Art Deco Pendant Necklaces
Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Antique Early 1900s French Edwardian Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Fashion Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Engagement Rings
Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Brooches
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1950s Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Antique 19th Century Georgian Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
2010s Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1920s American Art Deco Fashion Rings
Blue Sapphire, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Burmese Contemporary Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire
Vintage 1940s French Retro More Rings
Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s Hong Kong Art Nouveau Cocktail Rings
White Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1960s Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire
2010s Unknown Contemporary Solitaire Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire
Early 2000s French Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Burmese Solitaire Rings
Sapphire, 14k Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Fashion Rings
Diamond, Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Sapphire, Yellow Gold, Rhodium
21st Century and Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Drop Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s European Contemporary Dangle Earrings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1930s Unknown Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1920s Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Unknown Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Contemporary Dangle Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Stud Earrings
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Early 20th Century English Edwardian Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Platinum
Early 20th Century Art Deco Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Modern Bracelets
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Spinel, Platinum
2010s Stud Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Japanese Art Nouveau Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1980s French Artist Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold
Antique 19th Century Burmese Victorian Cocktail Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum, Silver
20th Century European Artisan Signet Rings
Diamond, Star Sapphire, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Chandelier Earrings
Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Singaporean Art Deco Pendant Necklaces
Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Stud Earrings
Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, White Gold, Platinum
2010s American Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, 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.