Large 2.4 Carats OCTAGON Shield French Antique PLATINUM Ring Old Mine & European Cut DIAMONDS Edwardian Cluster

ABOUT:

The chunky, high crowns on the old mine cut diamonds in this cluster ring make this special piece an impactful something to behold! Totaling around 2.4 carats of chunky sparkle, this ever popular old mine cluster is unique with its wonderful geometric and octagonal ring face. I have had some octagonal panel rings like this in the past, but this one has the ring face situated east west so it really spans the top of the finger. This French antique piece from the Edwardian era is crafted in platinum with the correct French hallmarks. The diamonds are propped in an openwork setting with the gallery allowing the light to shine through and show off those chunky cuts.

The center diamond is an old mine cut around .4 carat set in a bezel raised slightly above the others. It is surrounded by a halo of additional bead set old mine cut diamonds and one old European cut. In between the larger diamonds are set smaller old single cut diamonds (I love it when pieces have this feature!) so that every space is filled in with diamonds making the ring face appear complete encrusted. For added sparkle, the raised straps at each shoulder are also set with small old mine single cut diamonds. One of my best I would say.

I love antique diamonds, even those with inclusions or hues typical for the time, because some of those were still among the best available in the market during that period, and were expertly cut by hand to enhance their best characteristics. So I don’t often like to compare antique stones against modern grading standards - BUT these diamonds, for old stones have a particularly lovely fire reflecting a noticeable flash with the other colors of the rainbow. And the center diamond has exceptional clarity being completely eye clean. So even though the stone was made long before the 4 C's existed, it sparkles really beautifully. I'm amazed by it now as I wear it in low light how glittery and bright it still is.

This would be a wonderful gift - right hand ring, statement piece, or stacker.

Antique box not included.

SIZE & MEASUREMENTS:
It is currently a size 9 1/4. Should be sizable but I always recommend showing pictures to your local jeweler for sizing advice since everyone's skill and opinion are different. The ring face is 13.5mm north south by 17mm wide east west. It is 6.3mm tall off the finger.  It weighs 5.65g.

Exact size and thereby carat weight is unknown as I would never deconstruct and remove them but just using estimates and calculators, it is around 2.4 Carats total weight in diamonds.

The center is about 4.5mm with a very high crown measuring around .4 carat alone and the other outlining old mine cuts are about 3.7mm give or take. The old mines have high crowns and are a chunky cushion cut.
The ring has one old European cut diamond which is more round, with a slightly lower crown than the other clunkers but it does still have a nice depth and measures 4.2mm. The six old single cuts in the shoulders and the eight little spacers are 1.5 to 1.7mm each. It's a sparkle fest.

CONDITION NOTES:

All my pieces are pre-owned and in estate condition. As mentioned previously these old mine cuts have a very nice fire. The center diamond is eye clean. The outlining diamonds have some natural inclusions typical for the period. One has an eye visible carbon spot and another has a more feathery carbon spot. Another has a warm linear inclusion along one side that has carried up to the surface leaving a crease there. There are some smaller inclusions seen mostly under magnification, a fleck, a frosty line or needle inclusion. Also typical for antique stones, they have a slight warmth. With normal wear it appears quite bright, but in direct sunlight and under lit magnification you can see the warmth. The smaller diamonds have some nibbles and one has a shallow flake of loss leaving a frosty spot to one edge but still appears complete and round in the setting. The old European cut has a rough girdle edge that appears to have been done in the making as it is almost touching the adjacent old mine cut. These things are not really visible unless studying the piece under magnification. The old European cut has a whiter hue. All the stones are secure, the prongs look quite good for an antique. It's a wonderful piece. But Due to age - please note this is not a mint condition item.

I enjoy making my customers happy and matching unique pieces with new homes. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions! It means a lot to me that you are visiting my shop! : )

Feel free to request additional photos and videos as I have several.
Will be sent with expedited shipping, signature and insurance at my cost.

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 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 stated: “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. : ). And often there are variations of diamonds in the same piece as the goldsmiths created pieces with the stones they had available to them.

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