The article considers a meaning of the term “sapphire” as perceived in pre-Petrine Russia. The study reveals the discrepancy between the sapphire as contemporary defined, the mythical gemstone termed alike and the undetermined stone in question. It is discovered that this word, although it was well known, was extremely bookish and not associated with any of real stones. The author argues that in ancient Russia the sapphire stone as mentioned in literary sources was deemed to be red, according to the Slavonic translation of “on the Twelve Stones” by Saint Epiphanius of Salamis. In manuscripts there sometimes are met some other comments on the color of the stone called “sapphire”there, but being controversial one to another and met quite rarely, they seemed not to have been able to displace St. Epiphanius’ opinion at all then. The precious stone now called “sapphire” then was called “yakhont lazorev”. A wide and confident use of the word “sapphire” in the modern sense appears in Russia only in the second half of the XIXth century.