Vintage and Antique Rings

Antique and vintage rings

An antique ring is more than a hundred years old; a vintage ring is younger, usually from the 1940s to the 1980s. Every ring on this page is an original of its period. Rings described as "in the style of" a period were made later and appear under the Vintage filter. 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.

Georgian rings, 1714 to 1837

Georgian jewellers set diamonds in silver over gold, often in closed settings, and cut them as rose cuts: a flat base under a dome of triangular facets. Clusters of rubies, garnets and diamonds are typical, as are mourning and portrait miniature rings.

Victorian rings, 1837 to 1901

Clusters and half hoops dominate Victorian rings, set with Colombian emeralds, Ceylon sapphires, rubies and natural pearls. Snake rings became popular after Prince Albert gave Queen Victoria an emerald-set snake engagement ring in 1839, and antique snake rings in gold, with diamond or gem-set heads, are a Victorian form of their own.

Edwardian and Art Deco rings

Edwardian jewellers worked in platinum and fine gold, with natural pearls, rubies and old European cut diamonds in light, open mounts. Art Deco rings, made from the 1920s to the late 1930s, are geometric and usually platinum: plaque rings, target clusters and marquise rings with calibré-cut coloured stones on the shoulders.

Vintage rings from the 1940s onwards

Vintage rings bring bolder gold and larger coloured stones: cocktail rings and bombé rings of the 1950s, cabochon sapphires and rubies, crossover rings and 1970s rings set with aquamarine, opal, coral and tiger's eye. Signed rings by houses such as Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co., Carrera y Carrera and Marco Bicego are named as such on their listings.

Old cut diamonds

Before modern cutting machines, diamonds were cut by hand to keep as much weight as possible. An old mine cut, used through the 18th and 19th centuries, has a cushion outline, a high crown and a small table. The old European cut followed from about 1890 to the 1930s: round, with a high crown and an open culet. Both give broad flashes of light rather than the fine sparkle of a modern brilliant.

Emerald, sapphire, ruby and pearl rings

Coloured stones in antique and vintage rings are usually named by origin: Colombian for emeralds, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) or Burma for sapphires and rubies. Sapphires and rubies rank 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness, after diamond at 10; emeralds rank 7.5 to 8. Where a stone is natural or untreated, the listing says so.

Natural pearls form without human help and were the only pearls before cultured pearls became widely available in the 1920s, so Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian pearls are natural. Later pieces use cultured pearls, including South Sea pearls, white to golden, and Tahitian pearls, which are dark. Each listing states which type the piece has.

Signet, intaglio and cameo rings

Seal and carved-stone rings form their own group. An intaglio is carved into the stone, so it can be pressed into wax as a seal; a cameo is carved in relief. Signet rings carry an engraved crest, monogram or carved stone, and also appear on the signet rings page.

Settings and shanks

Georgian stones sit in closed settings, backed with metal and sometimes with coloured foil to deepen their colour. Open claw settings, which let light through the back of the stone, spread through the 19th century. A ring may have had its shank replaced over its life; where the shank is later than the head, the listing says so.

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.