The rise of sapphire as an engagement ring choice

Sapphire rings are now firmly entrenched as the second most popular engagement stone in the world. While they are still comfortably behind diamonds as the most popular choice, they are also comfortably out in front of every other gemstone in the popularity stakes. But this hasn’t always been the case.

A few decades ago, sapphires were an engagement ring afterthought. The only time you spotted them they were either on crown jewels and religious regalia. But that all changed one day in 1981.

Did Princess Diana start the sapphire engagement ring trend, or was she simply one of the first to jump on it? It’s hard to say. It may well have been a combination of the two, because as soon as she chose a £28,000 ‘commoner’ sapphire ring from Garrard’s in London (the first time a British royal had chosen a pre-made ring instead of a custom option), the popularity of sapphire as an engagement choice skyrocketed.

Within years it gained its current place as the second most popular engagement ring choice and has stayed there ever since. Yet another upsurge in popularity occurred in 2010, when the very same ring (now worth £300,000) was placed on the finger of Princess Kate by Princess Diana’s son, William.

The lure of the sapphire is obvious. The deep blue hue is stunning and goes with almost any metal, the stone is incredibly rare making it all the more desirable. It’s also guaranteed to last for quite some time, with a rating of 9 on the Mohs scale (diamonds are the hardest, with a rating of 10).

It’s the perfect engagement stone. In fact, it’s a wonder that it took so long to get popular!