Sapphire Jewelry
1980s French Modern Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
1950s French Art Deco Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
1960s French Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Sapphire Jewelry
White Diamond, Sapphire, Yellow Gold
1960s Modern Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Sapphire, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
1920s French Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, White Gold, Platinum
1930s French Aesthetic Movement Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Ruby, Sapphire, Silver, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Sapphire Jewelry
Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary European Contemporary Sapphire Jewelry
Ruby, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold
1960s French Retro Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Sapphire, Platinum
1940s Retro Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sapphire Jewelry
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, White Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
1950s French Retro Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold
1970s French Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century French Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold
1940s French Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Unknown Modern Sapphire Jewelry
Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
1940s French Retro Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Platinum
1950s French Modernist Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Emerald, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century French Modern Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century Sapphire Jewelry
Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1940s French Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, Rose Gold, Platinum
1950s French Modern Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Sapphire, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
1930s French Retro Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold, Platinum
1950s French Retro Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
20th Century Art Deco Sapphire Jewelry
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold, Gold
Late 20th Century French Sapphire Jewelry
Amber, Diamond, Pearl, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century French Retro Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century French Retro Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
1970s French Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century French Retro Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
1930s French Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum
1960s French Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Ruby, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1960s French Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s French Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Star Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
19th Century French Edwardian Antique Sapphire Jewelry
Star Sapphire, Diamond, 18k Gold, Gold
1950s French Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
1960s French Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire
1940s French Retro Vintage Sapphire Jewelry
Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Sapphire Jewelry
Emerald, Sapphire
2010s Sapphire Jewelry
Sapphire, White Gold
Vintage and Antique Sapphire Rings, Sapphire Necklaces and Other Sapphire Jewelry for Sale on 1stDibs
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.