Large Sapphires
Vintage 1910s Brooches
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow ...
1990s Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s Italian Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1940s Unknown Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Hoop Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Beaded Necklaces
Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Artisan More Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s French Artisan Fashion Rings
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, White Gold, 14k Gold, Gold
Late 20th Century Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1930s Unknown Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Stud Earrings
Ruby, Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold
20th Century Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s Modern Bracelets
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s British Modern Drop Earrings
Aquamarine, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Cocktail Rings
Citrine, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Fashion Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century American Retro Brooches
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Fashion Rings
Diamond, Star Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary British Contemporary Drop Earrings
Aquamarine, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century Italian Brooches
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Gold
Vintage 1960s European Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Late 20th Century Brooches
Diamond, Yellow Sapphire, 14k Gold
2010s British Contemporary Drop Necklaces
Pink Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
2010s British Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary North American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hoop Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s Italian Retro Cocktail Rings
Citrine, Diamond, Yellow Sapphire, Gold
Vintage 1980s French Brooches
Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s French Retro Dome Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow ...
21st Century and Contemporary Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s Unknown Pendant Necklaces
Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Pendant Necklaces
Sapphire, 18k Gold
20th Century Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Brooches
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Baroque Cocktail Rings
Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Spinel, Tanzanite, 18k Gold, G...
21st Century and Contemporary Dangle Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Brooches
Jade, Sapphire, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1970s Brooches
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold
Early 2000s Contemporary Pendant Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Freshwater Pearl, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Pink S...
21st Century and Contemporary Stud Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Drop Earrings
White Diamond, Diamond, Tanzanite, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, White Gold
20th Century Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s American Drop Earrings
Pearl, Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Tennis Bracelets
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White G...
20th Century Pendant Necklaces
Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold
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Large Sapphires For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much are Large Sapphires?
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.