Bonhams auctioneers, who claim to sell "more jewellery lots each year than any other international house" and, therefore, well-positioned to spot trends, has announced that sapphires are "the must-have gem for 2016" with sales "soaring, at least when it comes to marking an engagement for increasing numbers of couples".
The precious blue stone's popularity is partly due to the "Duchess of Cambridge effect" ; her sapphire engagement ring – previously owned by her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana – is one of the most-photographed pieces of jewellery in the world.
Jean Ghika, head of jewellery at Bonhams, said: "Traditionally, sapphires symbolise truth, sincerity and faithfulness – so they make the perfect ingredients for an upcoming marriage," but, as well as newly-engaged couples, she said, "a lot of independently wealthy women [are] also choosing sapphires because they want something different and more of a statement gem in their ring compared to a classic diamond."
The best sapphires, from Kashmir in India , "display a vivid velvety blue tone unique to the region" and are "highly-prized by collectors and investors due to their rarity and their scarcity as no mining activity takes place in Kashmir since the depletion of the mine in the 1880s".
Burma and Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) are also traditionally important sources for sapphires. That royal engagement ring, incidentally, is a 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire set in white gold, made by jewellers Garrard and reputedly cost £28,000 (€36k) in 1981. It is now believed to be valued at £300,000 (€383k).
Ms Ghika said that “antique sapphires from historic mines are particularly sought after by collectors and investors due to their rarity and are commanding record prices at auction” and that “with prices so buoyant, now is a really good time to sell sapphires and other coloured stones”.
Sellers, of course, need buyers – who seem to be plentiful.
Recent high prices at Bonhams jewellery auction in London include a ring set with a Kashmir sapphire weighing 21.27 carats which sold for £290,500 (€371k) – despite a top pre-auction estimate of £80,000 (€102k) and “a pair of 19th-century earrings set with Kashmir sapphires that belonged to a European princess and weighing a little less than eight carats each” that sold for £1.5 million (€1.9m) – more than tripling their pre-sale estimate.
Closer to home, O'Reilly's Auction Rooms in Dublin's Francis Street, which holds monthly auctions of antique jewellery, said its sale on Wednesday at 1pm has "one of the best collections of sapphires in a long time". Among them is Lot 102: "an antique sapphire and diamond cluster ring, featuring a 17.00-Carat Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) sapphire". The estimate is €11,000-€12,000 .
