Vintage engagement ring – what are my options?

Vintage engagement rings are rings crafted over a hundred years ago, well before the Second World War. These antique engagement rings are incredibly diverse in style and design, as well as in value. One thing which holds true for vintage engagement rings in general is that they are all imbued with deep sentimentality and uniqueness.
Vintage engagement rings are classified into four main eras:

1. Georgian engagement rings: 1714 – 1830 - This era was characterized by an abundance of wealth and luxury. The elite classes wore lavish jewelry pieces, such as diamond encrusted brooches, gold and silver pocket watches and even precious gemstone set dress buttons. Members of the aristocracy were not without their exquisite diamond rings, however, these rings were not meant to symbolize a pending engagement, they were mostly worn as status symbols (with the exception of Georgian crowned heart diamond rings, which were given as a sign of love and commitment). Nowadays, Georgian diamond rings have become an increasingly popular commodity, and are often used as engagement rings due to their grandness, their intricacy and their incredible uniqueness.

2. Victorian engagement rings: 1837 – 1901 – Victorian engagement rings were usually crafted out of various hues of gold, such as rose gold, black gold, purple gold, green gold, etc. Color played a prominent role in these engagement rings. Therefore, they were often set with colorful precious gemstones or seed pearls which acted as accent stones or as actual center stones. Diamonds from that era were antique mine cut diamonds (diamonds which are narrower and appear larger). Also, Victorian engagement rings were often shaped into symbolic designs which included the couple's initials, intertwining hearts and circular serpents which represented eternity.

3. Edwardian engagement rings: 1901 – 1915 – Edwardian style engagement rings were designed to look as delicate and as intricate as possible, while incorporating a hefty amount of diamonds and precious gemstones, as well as complex platinum embellishments. Edwardian rings were meant to emphasize a woman's natural beauty and grace, and her delicate femininity. Therefore, each jewelry piece was made with extreme care and incredible craftsmanship. Nowadays, Edwardian engagement rings have become a very popular commodity, and their value has risen exponentially.
 4. Art Deco engagement rings: 1920 – 1930s – Art Deco engagement rings are perhaps the most coveted when it comes to vintage diamond engagement rings. These rings were designed with architectural themes, meant to resemble acclaimed building and skyscrapers such as the Empire State building, the Chrysler building, etc. Art Deco engagement rings usually feature a diamond center stone, accented by precious gemstones (rubies emeralds or sapphires). The idea was to set vividly colored gemstones in contrast to a white platinum background and white set diamonds, which creates the illusion of converging angles and planes. This era's jewelry was heavily influenced by the industrial revolution. Jewelry was no longer hand crafted, but was created with the use of machines, which allowed for more complex and modern styled pieces. Also, new technologies were used to cut diamonds into a wide variety of fancy and unusual shapes.

• 7
• 10