ABOUT:

How old were you 36 years ago in 1989? I loved growing up in the 80s, permed hair with ski slope bangs, neon clothes, jellies (these are shoes for those who don't know), leg warmers and all! This is the year George H. W. Bush was sworn in as President, the San Francisco 49ers won the Super Bowl (the Packers were terrible throughout the 80s but my dad, three brothers and I watched them every week anyway), and it was the year Taylor Swift was born. A new home cost around $148,800, while median household income was $28,906. A first-class stamp cost $0.25, a gallon of regular gas was $1.12, movie tickets were under $4 and a dozen eggs was $0.96, and a gallon of milk was $2.34. Ah... the 80s.

I love the design of this vintage ring, but I pretty much bought it for the provenance because it comes with the original sales slip from Arnould Jewelers in Paris, printed on an ink printer that would have zipped out the letters one row at a time, from what was probably a green screen computer. : )

Arnould Jewelers was a high end jewelry house that was founded in 1890. The receipt was created in March of 1989, with the price of 52,000 French Francs (as it was purchased before the Euro was implemented in France in 1999). In 1989, 52k Francs amounted to $8,182 US dollars. If you were to use an inflation calculator to tell you how much money you would require to purchase the same goods at a later period, you'd be looking at a modern day price tag of over $18,000!

So this was quite the purchase of quite the ring from quite the place in Paris back then. The receipt in French states the "design and creation" of the ring with its weight of nearly 10 grams and an almost 1 carat diamond (.95 cts) that is G in color and VVS1 in clarity in a "closed setting" (bezel setting). So it appears to have been a custom creation with a very high quality stone. As a G grade is the highest, best grade in the “Near Colorless” range of the GIA's scale, making it a high-quality color grade that is visually very close to colorless.

This high quality diamond was then set into a very sturdy setting with interesting chevron peaks on the north south edges and a domed center. It's the perfect example of a timeless retro vintage piece that is still so interesting and on trend for today.

In researching the jewelry house, they actually created some quite amazing Art Nouveau pieces in the 1890s. From what I could decipher from the French registry websites, the business was located at Rue Racine for many years, from the 1890s until the 1990s when it moved to a new location. The final location that I could find was on Passage Du Grand Cerf in Paris which closed in 2014.

Found in France with French hallmark for 18k gold and the goldsmith stamp which is partially legible showing the second letter A for the makers (Arnould).

NOTE - I am not publishing the sales receipt in the listing for privacy reasons.  It has the original buyer's name and information which I didn't want to broadcast, but serious shoppers can feel free to request an image of it and it will of course be included in the purchase.

Antique box not included. Please note the measurements as I have small fingers and it can be difficult to determine scale from pictures.

SIZE & MEASUREMENTS:
Size 6 1/4. The ring face 13.5mm north south. It is 5.6mm tall off the finger. Additional measurements from the sales slip above.

IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES:

Some surface wear to the gold setting which can catch the light due to the smooth mirrored finish of the piece but it has a wonderful buttery glow. It's beautiful. Exceptional vintage diamond with not a single chip or nibble and of course with the high color and clarity grades, no issues to be found.

Please note that all my pieces are pre-owned and in estate condition. They will have patina, surface wear, a few small nicks. These pieces may also have evidence of a sizing, some build up around the stones and / or inclusions seen under magnification, typical for antique pieces. I have mentioned any noticeable issues above and they are all still wearable and eager to be loved and accepted for many years to come, (the preservation of antique jewelry, even those with signs of their age and history, is important to me. : )
But - Please note due to age, this piece is not in mint condition. Pictures also serve as part of the description and condition report so please utilize the zoom feature which will magnify any wear significantly more than what is visible to the eye while wearing : )

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 : )

All items hand picked by me, one at a time from all over the world. All listings individually written by me, and not AI, after studying each piece to discuss its beauties and its ; ) eccentricities (which I am picky to point out).

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