Vintage and Antique Engagement Rings

Choosing a vintage or antique engagement ring

An antique engagement ring was made more than a hundred years ago; a vintage engagement ring is younger, usually from the 1940s to the 1980s. Both are on this page, and the Period filter shows how the style of each era differs. Every ring is a single piece. Each listing gives the metal, the stones with their cut and measurements, the ring size in UK, US and EU sizes, and photographs from several angles.

Vintage platinum and white gold engagement rings

Platinum became the usual metal for diamond engagement rings in the early 20th century. It is strong enough to hold stones in fine claws and keeps diamonds looking white. White gold, gold alloyed with whiter metals, was developed in the same years and was widely used during the Second World War, when platinum was reserved for the war effort. Vintage solitaires, three-stone rings and clusters are made in both metals.

Georgian and Victorian rings

Rings from before 1900 are set in gold, often with silver over the diamonds so the stones look whiter. Georgian rings use rose cut diamonds, flat underneath with a dome of triangular facets. Victorian makers favoured clusters and half hoops, with sapphires, rubies and natural pearls. The diamonds of this period are old mine and early old European cuts, cut by hand with a high crown and a small table. They show broad flashes of light rather than the fine sparkle of a modern brilliant.

Edwardian and early 20th century

From about 1900, platinum let jewellers make lighter, more open settings. Edwardian engagement rings pair diamonds with natural pearls and rubies in fine, lace-like mounts, often with millegrain edges, a border of tiny beads raised along the rim of the setting.

Art Deco engagement rings

Art Deco rings, made from the 1920s to the late 1930s, are geometric: plaques, step cuts, calibré-cut coloured stones and platinum. Rings described as "Art Deco style" were made later in the manner of the period. They appear under the Vintage filter, not with the 1920s pieces.

Vintage rings from the 1940s onwards

Rings from the 1940s onwards make up the largest group: three-stone diamond rings, 1950s rings in white gold, and coloured stone rings of the 1970s. Toi et moi rings set two stones side by side, one for each partner. The form goes back to the ring Napoleon gave Josephine in 1796.

Ruby, sapphire and emerald engagement rings

Sapphires and rubies rank 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness, second only to diamond, which is why they have been set in engagement rings for centuries. Emeralds are softer at 7.5 to 8 and are usually given a protective setting such as a surround of diamonds. Where a stone is natural, unheated or untreated ("no oil" for emeralds), the listing says so. Signed rings by houses such as Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, Tiffany & Co. and Mauboussin are named as such on their listings.

Diamond cuts and shapes

The cut of the diamond is one of the clearest signs of age. Rose cuts belong to the Georgian and early Victorian periods; cushion-shaped old mine cuts run through the 19th century; round old European cuts span about 1890 to the 1930s. Art Deco jewellers added step cuts such as the emerald cut and baguettes, and marquise and pear shapes. The modern round brilliant, with its smaller table and finer facets, is standard in rings from the mid-century onwards. Each listing states the cut and shape of the main stone.

Reading the metal

British gold carries a fineness mark: 18 or 750 for 18KT, 15 for 15KT, 14 or 585 for 14KT and 9 or 375 for 9KT. 15KT was a legal British standard only from 1854 to 1932, so a 15KT mark dates a piece to that window on its own. Platinum was not hallmarked in Britain until 1975, so earlier platinum is often unmarked or stamped PLAT. The metal of every piece is stated on its listing.

Seeing a ring in person

You can view any ring by appointment at 47 Maddox Street, Mayfair, London W1S 2PG, or at our office at Unit 20B Lakes Industrial Park, Braintree, Essex CM7 3RU. If you cannot visit, ask for more photographs or a video of the piece. Each listing states the ring size, so you can compare it with a ring you already wear.