ABOUT:

This is such a fun bauble to wear! Large and sturdy vintage to antique Art Deco ring with 12 sparkling old mine and Old European cut diamonds in varying sizes set into a unique 14k white gold setting. The largest old mine cut diamond is over half a carat alone, with a total carat weight of over 3.1 carats for the entire piece. It is a real show stopper.

We know the diamonds are antique / over 100 years old, but the setting, with the swirling sleek shoulders appears more retro so it may be later than the stones. It's possible it was made this way in the Art Deco period, but it may also be an heirloom piece where someone took theirs and/or a relative's old diamonds from various pieces and had them all reset. It is a unique piece with the mix of diamonds set into the vintage setting. Certainly a one of a kind piece - It's very fun to wear.

It is stamped inside H.B. Co. 14k.
Antique box is not included.

MEASUREMENTS:

Ring is currently about a size 7 1/4. It weighs a sturdy 7.5 grams. Exact depth of each diamond and thereby carat weight is unknown as I would never remove them but using estimates, it is over 3.1 carats total weight in diamonds. The largest diamond is 5.7mm, with a few at 5mm, and the rest at 3 to 4.2mm each.

The ring face is 22mm north south. It stands 5.5mm off the finger.

IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES:

Please note that all my pieces are pre-owned and in estate condition. All the stones are very secure making this ready for regular wear. Just a worn prong here or there to keep an eye on over time.

Typical antique diamonds with some natural inclusions. The largest one and two of the smaller diamonds read very slightly warm to gray but overall the piece has a great sparkle with the majority being quite bright and white in color. For antique diamonds, they have a lovely fire reflecting out the colors of the rainbow. Two of the largest diamonds have inclusions that are eye visible and can catch the light. The other larger stone has a small chip and flake of loss to the girdle edge. A few of the smaller stones also have natural inclusions but are less eye visible, being smaller stones.

Quite a sturdy piece! There are no dark spots to the gold, it just reflects its surroundings at some angles while photographing. It really sparkles!

But of course due to age - Please note this piece is not in mint condition.

Will be sent with insurance and signature confirmation upon delivery at my cost.

SOCIAL:
Please feel free watch @mouseshouseantiques on Instagram for inventory drops, sneak peaks and previews! And check out my website www.MousesHouseAntiques.com as I can add more pics there so you can get extra looks : )

A note about antique diamonds:
The whole "4 C's" of cut, color, clarity, carat didn't come about until the 1940s so prior to that and especially on antique stones, there was not as much emphasis placed on those things. (Sure people probably appreciated a certain look of a certain diamond as it appeared to the eye but it was not a graded scale like we have today for machine cut stones.) It is difficult to judge antique stones against modern day diamonds with their grading system evaluating their mathematically perfected proportions using methods and standards that didn’t exist for hand cut old cut diamonds. No two old cuts are the same as they were crafted in times lacking those modern standards. The diamond cutters of the time were experts at hand cutting each stone to enhance it which means that even lower color grades can be cut to appear whiter. (Although it is also worth noting that many antique collectors prefer and seek out antique diamonds with warmer hues.)

It is also interesting that "lower graded" diamonds in today's scale system, were some of the best on the market during this period! So it is less about their grades and more about the unique play of light and color that each one can offer. I read one article that put it: “When searching for the perfect old cut diamond (for you), you need to view them through different eyes as you would for a modern diamond, Laboratory grading reports don’t offer too much information in regards to their individual beauty or sparkle which are based more on their individual character and uniqueness that each one potentially offers.” However I do always study each stone and describe in detail everything I see, which can be used to compare against grading charts if desired.

Just an interesting comparison of antique vs. modern diamonds. : ). Often there are variations of diamonds in the same piece as the goldsmiths created pieces with the stones they had available to them.

Thanks for stopping by!

Box#Mst.!2#