THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT ~
Type: Ring
Materials: 14k Gold, Diamond, Silver
Size: 6 3/4, Diamond weight 2.1 Carats
Era: c1900
ABOUT:
Love this one! Nice sized diamonds with a wonderful patina and a moody sparkle totaling around 2.1 carats in old cut diamonds! Beautiful movement with the three large old mines in the center set at an angle. These are about 5mm each and are then flanked by the swirling bypass shoulders which are also set with old mine cut diamonds. 11 stones in all, this is a fun one to wear.
I purchased this in France, no hallmarks remain but it was sold to me as 14k and tested to confirm. The ring face is topped in silver as was customary for the period to set diamonds in a white metal, it was thought to increase their brilliance. See notes below.
It has a nice size footprint on the finger at about an inch north south. Love it so much.
Antique box not included.
MEASUREMENTS:
Size 6 3/4. The ring face is 25mm and stands 4mm off the finger. Each of the three larger diamonds are 5mm, so around a half carat each. The smaller ones on the shoulders range from 2.5 to 3.5mm with the end ones at 1.7mm. Exact carat weight is not known as I would not remove the stones from the setting, but just using estimates by mm it is around 2.1 carats. It weighs a sturdy 4.5 grams.
IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES:
All my pieces are preowned and in estate condition. Note the patina - the silver has a sort of matte gray film / tarnish along the side edges of the bezels. I tried to give it a light polish but it's hard to reach to really give it enough force and most of my buyers prefer original patina so I kept it pretty light. It just makes the gold bezels topped in silver look a little uneven to the side in their coloring an sheen. The raised areas and edges all have a nice shine, so it is really the recesses around the stones and outside / in between the stone settings. It is still beautiful with wonderful coloring, especially when worn and viewing it top down.
Typical antique diamonds with a slight warmth to the center stone which appears almost champagne in some light. These diamonds, especially considering they are antique stones, have a great clarity with no eye visible inclusions and only the tiniest specks seen under strong lit magnification. No dark specks or dark carbon inclusions. The center stones move the tiniest fraction of a millimeter but are secure in the bezel. I think it is actually because the stones are cushion cut and the bezels are round. There are some scuffs, nicks and nibbles to the stones. One of the larger end stones has abrasions on the facets giving the facets a matte finish, but to the eye it still sparkles nicely and has plenty of well polished areas. Typical for age, a worn prong here and there to keep an eye on over time but all the stones are secure. Uniform surface wear. It is such an interesting piece, fun to wear and stack.
But as with all my estate pieces - Please note this is not a mint condition item.
Thanks so much for looking at my items!
SOCIAL:
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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 pieces, 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.) So it is difficult to judge antique stones against modern day diamonds and their grading system. No two old cuts are the same as they were crafted in times lacking any 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 nicely: “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.”
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.
Box#Mq.!)@3
