The Best Celebrity Sapphire Moments And Ways To Customise/Recreate The Looks
- Introduction: Why sapphire has endured over other coloured gemstones in the modern luxury market
- Why wholesale sapphires are ideal for custom jewellery or engagement rings
- Ana de Armas’ pear-shaped sapphire (a glimpse into how colour gradients and cut matter when it comes to custom pieces)
- Bella Hadid’s sugarloaf cabochon (understanding why cabochons are trending)
- Elizabeth Taylor’s legacy pendant (How to pick premium teal sapphires)
- Zoey Deutch’s wearable sapphire short choker (the versatility of teal sapphires in the wearable fashion milieu)
- Zendaya’s statement layered sapphire necklace (how to pick tablet parti sapphires)
Sapphire jewellery is a go-to pick for celebrities when it comes to red carpet appearances. The blend of modern versatility and old school element makes the sapphire a coveted gemstone for A-listers. The sapphire’s durability and adaptability can be key to understanding its long-standing allure and also the rising trend of coloured gems over diamonds. In the last decade, newfound knowledge and understanding have emerged over rarer coloured stones which have steered discerning buyers towards Paraiba tourmaline, mermaid sapphires, spinel, alexandrite etc, which are not just flashier but also a lot more coveted than diamonds.
Interestingly, the classic blue or teal sapphires have managed to endure in the modern luxury circuit, unlike some of its other counterparts such as emeralds, rubies or citrines. They don’t just make for terrific modern heirlooms (Princess Diana’s Ceylon sapphire is a major example since it has been updated to fit Kate Middleton’s normcore style) and are also make for ideal wedding jewellery, particularly engagement rings, owing to its exceptional strength and durability, which is second only to diamonds.
To put it simply, though diamonds are forever, coloured gemstones, particularly sapphires are having a moment.
If you’re considering commissioning celebrity-inspired custom pieces with sapphires, it’s crucial to go for expertly-mined gemstones, especially for buyers who are specific about cut, clarity, gradient, traceability and overall value.
Wholesale sapphire purchases can prove beneficial for buyers who are looking to commission custom bridal trousseaus or are opting for bespoke modern heirlooms. For sellers, bridging the mine-to-market gap has emerged as a key factor because though jewellery has always involved a financial and emotional investment, the millennial buyer cares deeply about the story behind their gemstones. Since most high jewellery platforms also prioritise an ethical supply chain, it’s easier for buyers to get their hands on responsibly-sourced gemstones.
The best way to buy ethically sourced sapphires is to opt for platforms and manufacturers who believe in a systematised process, be it for documenting their sourcing process or breaking down their supply chain. At Navneet Gems, we advocate sustainable environmental practices, ethically mined stones, fair trade and inclusion stones and put transparency first.
Here are the most iconic sapphire looks from Hollywood red carpets which can easily be recreated with custom pieces:
Ana De Armas in pear-shaped sapphires
For the 2020 Golden Globes, Knives Out star Ana De Armas chose to wear a stunning royal blue sapphire necklace from the Tiffany Blue Book Collection. The number re-interprets a classic silhouette and has been designed by chief artistic officer Reed Krakoff. It boasts 19 precisely matched pear-shaped sapphires of over 101 total carats held together by brilliant platinum and diamond links. The sapphires have been carefully selected to graduate in size from over 2 carats to over 8 carats at the centre as they wrap around the neck, ensuring the stones catch light from every angle.
The colour gradient and shapes are key, especially if you’re looking to opt for a custom sapphire necklace such as this one. While purchasing wholesale sapphires, scouting the right premium-quality, precision-cut sapphires are important and can be determined with the help of some expert guidance. For instance, customising a celebrity-inspired sapphire number may need you to look into colour zoning and understand how it can be quite prominent in bi-colour sapphires. The location, difference and contrast in colour are factors that contribute to their desirability. The most desirable bi-colour zoning is gradual, and this seamless gradient makes them perfect to curate eye-catching statement pieces.
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At Navneet Gems, buyers can explore sapphires based on their preferences in dominant colours. Since colour preferences are largely geographically inclined, traceability becomes essential in these purchases and that’s exactly where Navneet Gems’ systematically documented, guilt-free gemstones can prove useful for buyers who are keen on ethical gemstones.
Bella Hadid’s sugarloaf sapphire cabochon
Cabochons are having a moment. Not only are they extremely prized in the current high jewellery circuit but they are also terrifically versatile. Rather than faceting the gemstone, the cabochon is cut to have a smooth, glasslike surface, which helps play up a sapphire’s raw colour. Sugarloaf cabochons have emerged as highly coveted silhouettes, since they have been cut to have a 4-sided pyramid shape, thus boosting its sculptural finish. At the 2017 Cannes red carpet supermodel, Bella Hadid stunned in a dynamic 180.98-carat sugarloaf cabochon sapphire necklace from Bulgari’s high jewellery collection.
The stunning Bulgari number from the Festa collection is called Il Magnifico and borrows some old-world design influences to appeal to a millennial buyer base. While discussing the Festa line, Lucia Silvestri, jewellery creation and gem buying director at Bulgari, shared that the ‘combination of Roman discipline, rigour and architecture and these joyful elements created excitement and tension.’ Lively, one-of-a-kind statement pieces such as these make for ideal modern heirlooms.
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Now that the vintage cabochon trend is back, more and more buyers are considering cabochon while commissioning jewellery, especially bridal pieces. The distinct asterism lends a complex, sophisticated finish to cabochon stones. Navneet Gems offers a line of stunning, expertly-curated line of stunning star sapphires from Sri Lanka, that is completely natural/ unheated and can make for stunning additions to statement pieces.
Elizabeth Taylor’s juicy legacy sapphire pendant
Elizabeth Taylor’s iconic Bulgari sapphire necklace is proof that heirloom sapphire pieces can be all kinds of creative, especially if buyers are looking for personalised or bespoke jewellery. The resplendent necklace features an oversized, octagonal pendant featuring a breathtaking 65-carat sugarloaf cabochon Burmese sapphire, encrusted with diamonds and smaller sapphires.
The hexagonal and rhomboid motifs and the assortment of brilliant-cut diamonds and calibrated sapphires play up the dimensions and cut of the centrepiece. For customising ambitious, unique pieces such as this one, going for ethically-sourced wholesale sapphires can be a great option. Navneet Gems is a wholesale supplier of loose, heated and unheated blue sapphire stones. We have our factories in Chantaburi, Thailand where we buy rough and outsource the rough blue sapphire stones for heating. Our company also has buyers who cherry-pick the premium quality blue sapphire stones at Chantaburi (Thailand) market, at wholesale prices from other manufacturers. This helps us ensure we don’t miss out on any premium specimens.
When it comes to picking teal sapphires, Navneet Gems can be a great place to scout premium options. Our parti and mermaid sapphires are rare, attractive and coveted in the global market. They are the rarer resourced stones, but since Thailand is one of the leading dealers in sapphires, Navneet Gems only offers the best, top-quality sapphire stones for sale.
Zoey Deutch’s polished, Chopard sapphire necklace
Buyers who are fluid with their budget often opt for wholesale sapphire purchases when they’re planning a bridal trousseau with a selection of high jewellery pieces. Modern brides tend to go for wearable cosmopolitan high jewellery numbers that can be worn and styled with different fashion memos even after their bridal soirees. Actor Zoey Deutch’s petite Harry Winston short choker featuring a long 58.69-carat sapphire cabochon pendant necklace with 22.93 carats of diamonds is party-ready and yet classic. It’s also a great example of wearable statement jewellery that’s curatable according to the buyer’s preference, especially vis-a-vis colour and clarity.
In the American market, teal sapphires have emerged as one of the most sought-after variants in sapphires owing to their overall versatility. The chic, warm blue notes in teal sapphires exude a marked difference in tonality from regular dark blue or cornflower blue sapphires. Most buyers also have specific opinions on inclusions, which have always been an important marker of a gem’s identity. While teal sapphires do not technically show a colour change, the reflection patterns in natural and artificial lights produce a difference in gradient. Though colour-changing gemstones are extremely coveted, buyers need to make sure that the primary colour in most lighting conditions is teal, whatever combination of blue and green qualifies.
Navneet Gems offers a line of ethical, Australian teal sapphires and is especially known for its selection of mermaid sapphires, which have a 50%-50% ratio of blue and green. The incredible combination of a deep oceanic blue and a vivacious earthy green fulfils the criteria of hardness (9-9.5 Moh), eye-clean clarity and brilliant optical performance of bi-colour and pleochroism.
Zendaya’s layered sapphire statement piece
Customising statement pieces can be simpler if you have a lookbook in place since that can help you determine the cut, clarity and size of the gemstone which works for a certain piece of jewellery. If you’re specific about details, determining the right clarity or gradient can be quite crucial. For instance, Bulgari’s Star of Venice necklace, which Zendaya wore for a major red carpet is the perfect example of what the right selection of bespoke gemstones can do.
A rich, deep colouration, perfect proportions and an inner vibrancy make Zendaya’s 23.67 ct royal blue sapphire the ideal centrepiece. Besides geometric, hexagonal pieces, classic tablet sapphires, are also a timeless option. The right selection of tablet parti sapphires with their striking blue-green-yellow combination can be one of your most attractive buys. While non-traditional colours are trending big in retail, for custom sapphire pieces, buyers tend to go for parti sapphires or polychrome sapphires. The parti sapphire’s one-of-a-kind colouration show more than one colour in a single stone which means the cut can be pivotal since the angles can determine which zone shines through.
