Good sapphires also come from Madagascar.Īs with other gems, when shopping for a sapphire engagement ring, the 4Cs are crucial. Other premium sources are Burma (also called Myanmar), known for sapphires of a rich royal blue, and Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), which produces gems in the highly sought-after shade of cornflower blue, à la Princess Diana’s ring. The velvety-blue Kashmir variety is also extremely rare, especially since the mine is no longer producing. “ Kashmir sapphires sit atop the throne of the sapphire kingdom for their unique color and scintillation unlike any other,” says Sumeet Chordia, of New York City–based RAF Jewels. If you’re seeking a stone fit for royalty, pay close attention to origin. A full decade later, a younger generation is newly besotted with the famous jewel, thanks to the hit Netflix series The Crown, which includes a Princess Diana plot line in season five. Princess Diana’s engagement ring now graces the finger of the Duchess of Cambridge (the former Kate Middleton) and sparked renewed interest in sapphire rings when Prince William proposed to her with it in 2010. They come in every color of the rainbow, but blue ones are the most common.Įven though Napoléon Bonaparte proposed in 1796 to Joséphine, a fashion icon long before Princess Diana, with a two-carat, sapphire and diamond Toi et Moi engagement ring, the most famous blue sapphire engagement ring has to be the Garrard stunner that the late princess picked out in 1981, with its halo of diamonds surrounding the center stone. 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. The grand dame of jewelry, Elizabeth Taylor had a passion for the gems that her lovers were happy to indulge.

Sapphires are engagement-ring favorites - an antique, new or vintage sapphire engagement ring symbolizes fidelity and truth, and provides that requisite “something blue” for the bride’s wedding day ensemble.

Engagement rings diamond and sapphire