Sapphire Brooches
Late 19th Century Late Victorian Antique Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Gold, Silver
1920s Art Deco Vintage Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Onyx, Sapphire, Platinum
1980s Art Deco Vintage Sapphire Brooches
White Diamond, Emerald, Onyx, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
1960s Modern Vintage Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Sapphire Brooches
Emerald, Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, White Gold
1940s Retro Vintage Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Sapphire Brooches
Pink Sapphire, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Titanium
20th Century Artisan Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Contemporary Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Tsavorite, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Tsavorite, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Tsavorite, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Contemporary Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Tsavorite, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Contemporary Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Edwardian Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Tsavorite, 18k Gold, Whit...
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Yellow Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Emerald, Blue Sapphire, Topaz, Blue Topaz, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Tsavorite, 18k Gold, Whit...
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Tsavorite, Purple Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Art Deco Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Edwardian Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Blue Sapphire, Tsavorite, Diamond, Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Gold
19th Century Antique Sapphire Brooches
Sapphire, Gold
2010s Contemporary Sapphire Brooches
Pink Sapphire, Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Sterling Silver, Titanium
1940s Retro Vintage Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
20th Century Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire, Gold
20th Century Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Yellow Sapphire, Platinum
20th Century Sapphire Brooches
Pearl, Sapphire, Gold
20th Century Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Moonstone, Sapphire, Gold
2010s Contemporary Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Gold, White Gold, Rhodium
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Sapphire Brooches
Pink Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Tsavorite, Diamond, Blue Diamond, Emeral...
1930s Art Deco Vintage Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Opal, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
1890s Victorian Antique Sapphire Brooches
Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond, Pearl, Gold, Silver
Early 20th Century Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Blue Sapphire, White Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Sapphire Brooches
Labradorite, Black Pearl, Blue Sapphire
2010s Contemporary Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1940s Vintage Sapphire Brooches
Sapphire, Diamond, Opal, Ruby, 18k Gold, White Gold
1940s Artisan Vintage Sapphire Brooches
Sapphire, White Diamond, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Art Nouveau Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, Pearl, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
1960s Artisan Vintage Sapphire Brooches
Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Sapphire Brooches
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold...
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Sapphire Brooches
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, White Gold, Gold, 14k Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold...
21st Century and Contemporary Byzantine Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, Multi-gemstone, Ruby, Sapphire, Blue Sa...
21st Century and Contemporary Byzantine Sapphire Brooches
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, Ye...
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Sapphire Brooches
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage and Antique Sapphire Jewelry
The stone of choice for Napoleon, Princess Diana and Elizabeth Taylor has been a favorite of aristocrats and the well-to-do since the time of the Ancient Greeks. Learn how to shop for the bright blue gems that star in vintage and antique sapphire jewelry, and why it's chemically impossible for a sapphire to turn red.
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).
Find an exquisite collection of vintage and antique sapphire jewelry on 1stDibs.
