Sri Lanka Unheated Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary Sri Lankan Artisan Loose Gemstones
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Engagement Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, White Diamond, White Gold
Early 20th Century Japanese Edwardian Cocktail Rings
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Early 20th Century British Art Deco Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Late 20th Century Solitaire Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Sapphire, White Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Blue Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary Loose Gemstones
Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Cluster Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Sri Lankan Cluster Rings
Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum
Early 20th Century Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold
2010s Sri Lankan Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Purple Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Sri Lankan Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Sri Lankan Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Sri Lankan Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Sri Lankan Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Sri Lankan Engagement Rings
White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s Sri Lankan Engagement Rings
White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold
2010s Sri Lankan Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
2010s Sri Lankan Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Early 20th Century British Edwardian Engagement Rings
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
2010s Unknown Engagement Rings
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Unknown Engagement Rings
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold
Late 20th Century British Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1930s Unknown Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Sri Lankan Modern Loose Gemstones
Blue Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary Sri Lankan Loose Gemstones
Blue Sapphire
21st Century and Contemporary Sri Lankan Loose Gemstones
White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire
2010s Sri Lankan Engagement Rings
White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
- 1
Sri Lanka Unheated Sapphire For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Sri Lanka Unheated 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.