LARGE Antique SAPPHIRE 20 Old Mine Rose Cut DIAMONDS 18k White Gold Statement Ring

ABOUT:
I call these very Art Deco styles of rings Great Gatsby rings because it looks like something you'd find on a movie set with statement jewelry from the roaring 20s.

French antique 18k white gold ring with large swirled shield face with milgrain details set with a sapphire and 20 old cut diamonds to provide a wonderful sculptural sparkle. One of the diamonds is a rose cut, the rest are old mines.

I am not a certified gemologist but I assume the sapphire to be synthetic as that was a popular choice for the period. So I am selling it as such with no claims or guarantees otherwise. Marked on the outside of the shank with the French mark for 18k gold.

Note that it has two little ball rivets inside the shank, either to make it fit tighter or to accommodate arthritic knuckles. These could be easily removed by a jeweler especially if the buyer intends to take it in to have it re-sized anyway.

SIZE & MEASUREMENTS:

It's about a 7 3/4 on my mandrel with the two little rivets so I would say it fits closer to an 8 1/4? as the finger would fill the space between the rivets. It weighs a sturdy 5.5 grams. The ring face is 1 1/4 inch top to bottom so a nice size on the finger.

The sapphire is 6x5mm. The diamonds are each 1.5 to 2mm with a few of the smaller ones on the ends. The depth of the stones and therefore carat weight is unknown as I would never remove from the setting. But just using the mm measurements and online estimations it is probably around a half a carat total weight, but please see mm measurements as the guide.

IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES:

All my pieces are pe-owned and in estate condition. This one needs somewhat gentle wear because the ends of the ring face come to appoint. This is just how it was fabricated so it is not a condition problem of course but I wanted to mention it in case some buyers prefer comfort over wow factor, as it does wear a little bit differently than smaller rings with the glorious, very long ring face - oh the things we do for fashion!

There is a tiny crease to the gold inside one shoulder where it is like a curved thin strap of gold - I think it used to have a different arthritic guard / liner inside, where they make a springy gold band inside the shank which moves over the knuckle. Since that was removed it looks like just a remnant is there inside the shoulder, nothing that affects the stability of the ring.

The sapphire is abraided with scuffs to the facets seen by the eye, especially when you catch it in a reflection where it has a bit of a matte finish. The diamonds look great, bright and sparkly. Typical antique diamonds may have some faint inclusions but nothing visible to the eye and nothing glaring even under magnification.

Very unique piece from a very special era. 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! : )

Thanks so much for looking at my items!

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.”

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