Large Oval French ANTIQUE 1.6 Carat 44 TALL Old Mine Cut DIAMOND Pave Cluster Ring 14k Gold

ABOUT:

Impactful French antique oval ring - with 44 old mine cuts totaling over 1.6 carats total weight in diamonds. This one has a great moody vibe and a fabulous texture with hand chiseled old cut diamonds with very high crowns set amidst bead prongs giving the ring face a totally encrusted, almost pave look. A great cobblestone setting with a slight dome to it. Amazing glitter factor with a large footprint the finger. Reeded shank with a diamond set into each shoulder as an added accent. A timeless classic and a real show stopper with exceptional sparkle factor.

This piece is crafted in 14k gold with French hallmarks - the shank having a rosy hue to the antique patina. The ring face is also a white precious metal as was customary for the period to set diamonds in a white metal. I think it might be silver looking at the patina.

Most of the old cut diamonds have crown facets that are long and triangular scissor cuts with really high crowns. (Mine cuts typically have three rows of facets to the crown whereas these have the single row of long facets). Some are more square shaped but with the still softened cushion cut corners. Extra chunky with that great antique sparkle. Perhaps a combination of a French cut / Old Mine Cut ? as diamond cutters at the time used their personal knowledge, taste and expertise to enhance each diamond. It is always fun to find uniquely cut antique diamonds! The culets also are large and irregular, clearly hand cut with a chiseled appearance that we love to see in extra chunky old cut stones. I like to look at it from the side to see the high crowns cropping out of the ring face.

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

SIZE & MEASUREMENTS:

Size 5 1/4 on my mandrel, a little over - almost reaching 5 1/2 but not quite.

Weight is 5.2 grams.

The ring face is 28x11mm and 4mm off the finger. (1.1 Inches north south!) The piece holds 44 diamonds including the two in the shoulders. The majority of the diamonds are 1.7 to 2.2mm each with high chunky crowns, there are just a few slightly smaller than that range. I would not remove them for exact measurements but estimated over 1.5 carats total weight in diamonds.

IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES:

The stones reflect warm to gray in a lot of lighting conditions. Super sparkly and amazing texture but just doesn't read bright white, in part because of how the stones were cut with the high crowns, deep pavilions and large culets - they just reflect the light differently than modern machine cut stones. But some of it is warmth to the stones themselves - which I and many other collectors love to see. It has a great antique look.

Typical antique diamonds with some natural inclusions but nothing glaring as the stones are relatively small as individuals, clustered together for impactful sparkle. A nick here or there under strong magnification and some of them may have always been cut that way but again nothing glaringly eye visible. None of the stones move and the bead prongs are plentiful, adding texture to the ring face.

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 : )

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! : )

SOCIAL:
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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. It is also interesting that "lower graded" diamonds in today's scale system, were some of the best on the market during this period. I read one article that states: “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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