Vintage Diamond Engagement Rings
If you chose vintage diamond engagement rings, you will have the guarantee that your ring will be unique. That is the beauty of buying rings from the olden days. They generally weren’t mass produced but created as individual pieces.
Vintage can describe any period more than 50 years ago although most people use the term in relation to either the Victorian, Edwardian or Art Deco era. Diamonds became quite plentiful in the late Victorian times with the discovery of several mines. The fashion was for one single quality diamond rather than a ring comprised of smaller mediocre ones. The heavy mounts of the previous era disappeared in favor of more elegant detailing. In the late 1890’s pearls were often the preferred stone although few would now recommend them for an engagement ring as they are too soft for daily wear.
If you are a real romantic you might fancy vintage diamond engagement rings designed as a pair of entwined hearts. These were quite fashionable in late 1890’s. Carl Faberge, the famous Russian crown jeweler although more famous as the creator of the Faberge Easter eggs designed some amazing sapphire and diamond rings in the last years of the Victorian era. The sapphires were set within diamond borders. Very simple yet absolutely stunning and they still command a high price today.
Rings of the 1920s were generally set in platinum and pave set diamonds combined with precious jewels were the norm. Large step cut diamond solitaires also became very fashionable as engagement rings in this period – a trend that has continued to this day.
Vintage diamond engagement rings made in the 1920s were typically bulky in style rather than elegant as the trend was to show everyone how wealthy you were. So the more diamonds the better in an engagement ring. This doesn’t mean that the rings were ugly. On the contrary some of the most stunning rings to date were made by the craftsmen of this time. Yellow gold didn’t appear in engagement rings until the end of the 1930’s probably because platinum use in jewelry was prohibited as a result of the war.
In the 1930’s the invisible mount was develop by Van Cleef and Arpels. This was a way to set gems into rings with no visible metal. Instead grooves were cut into the back of the jewel and they were slid onto metal rails to hold them securely in place. As emeralds are known for cracking, you probably won’t find any set in this way but you will find sapphires and rubies if you fancy a very different ring.
Diamonds have always held a fascination for woman and the ladies of bygone eras were no exception. But you will also find that emeralds, sapphires and rubies also feature a lot in vintage diamond engagement rings. When you are buying an antique ring always ask some questions about its history. Given the beauty of some of these ornaments and the fact that a lot were commission with a particular woman in mind, it would be nice to know some of the story.