Basaltic Sapphire
Antique 19th Century Austrian Link Bracelets
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique 1890s Unknown Stud Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, 9k Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver
Vintage 1950s French Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, White Gold
Vintage 1930s Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1950s Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, White Gold
Vintage 1930s Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1910s Band Rings
Sapphire, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1920s Australian Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Thai Contemporary Engagement Rings
Green Sapphire, Sapphire, Diamond, White Gold, 14k Gold, Gold
Vintage 1930s Unknown Art Deco Link Bracelets
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Antique Early 1900s Unknown Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, Sapphire, Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1910s Unknown Edwardian Band Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 15k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s French Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Antique Early 1900s Band Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1940s Unknown Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1930s Unknown Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum
1990s Unknown Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1930s Unknown Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Platinum
Antique 1890s Unknown Victorian Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1910s Unknown Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1930s Unknown Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Antique Early 1900s British Late Victorian Fashion Rings
Sapphire, 15k Gold
1990s Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s English Modern Stud Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1950s European Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
Antique 1890s Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1940s Band Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1920s Unknown Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1910s French Belle Époque Link Bracelets
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1910s European Art Deco Link Bracelets
Diamond, Sapphire, 14k Gold, Silver
Vintage 1920s Art Deco Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1920s Art Deco Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
Late 20th Century European Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Antique Late 19th Century European Art Nouveau Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Afghan Arts and Crafts Loose Gemstones
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Afghan Arts and Crafts Loose Gemstones
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Afghan Arts and Crafts Loose Gemstones
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Australian Modern Stud Earrings
Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold
Early 20th Century Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire
Vintage 1920s Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1970s Unknown Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1930s Unknown Art Deco Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1930s Unknown Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
1990s Unknown Cocktail Rings
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1950s Unknown Retro Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1960s French Retro Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold
Vintage 1920s French Belle Époque Link Bracelets
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Early 20th Century Unknown Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1980s Unknown Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Early 2000s Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Afghan Arts and Crafts Loose Gemstones
Other, Blue Diamond
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Arts and Crafts Loose Gemstones
Peridot
Vintage 1920s Austrian Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 14k Gold
Vintage 1930s British Art Deco More Rings
Blue Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1920s English Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
Mid-20th Century Three-Stone Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century British Cluster Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Early 20th Century Cluster Rings
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
Vintage 1920s English Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
Basaltic Sapphire For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Basaltic 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.
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