LINEAR 1.7 Carat Elongated Old Mine Cut DIAMONDS Oval & Round Three Stone Ring Chunky French ANTIQUE 18k Gold Unique Bezel Set

I'm back from my inventory trips to Europe with Many "new" antique finds that I will be rolling out through the new year. Please feel free to follow here or on Instagram for updates!

ABOUT:

Behold this fabulous three stone ring! I went for this one because of the unique setting and wonky antique cuts. Bezel settings are always so popular and I think this is the first three stone one I have had in awhile. Comfortable and won't catch on things, the bezels hold the three diamonds, each with their own unique cut, in a north south line. Totals around 1.7 carat total weight in antique diamonds (this is an estimate as I would not remove them).

This one has a great antique look because the north and south end diamonds are elongated old mine cuts, making them appear like a cushioned oval shape in the bezel settings. Always fun to find old cuts in shapes outside of the more common round. These two flank the center stone which is a more standard, rounder and still lovely cushion cut stone. But this is everything we love about antique diamonds - the way no two are ever exactly alike. It gives this ring so much character, the diamonds almost freeform and organic, clearly hand cut ages ago.

As another example of its fun quirks, one of the elongated diamonds has an also elongated rectangular overall (but still octagonal) open culet, while the other is the more standard rounder (but still octagonal) open culet that is slightly off center of the stone. All the stones are chunky cuts with high crowns cropping out of the bezels. Happy dance for unique old cuts - so fun to study these variances!

I love the geometric look of the piece and that it is still so comfortable and wearable. Early 1900s late Victorian to Edwardian era all original antique piece. But despite its age, this one is also somewhat uncommon in that it is ready for regular wear.

French piece found in Paris and crafted in 18k yellow gold with contrasting raised strap shoulders and milgrain details that surround each bezel - the common fabrication for the period to set diamonds in a white metal.

Antique boxes, props, mice ; ) not included. Please note the measurements as I have small fingers and it can be difficult to determine scale from pictures.

HALLMARKS:
French hallmarks for 18k gold.

MEASUREMENTS:
A snug Size 6 1/4.

Exact measurements of the stones and thereby carat weight is unknown but measuring them as they are set:
The center stone is 5.5x5mm and about .57 carat. The elongated stones are 5.7x4mm and super chunky, over half a carat each. The cuts are kinda wonky so it's tough to get an accurate measurement on these without removing these and putting them on a scale so they could be upwards of .65 carat each but I'll go with the more conservative so as not to under deliver : )

The ring weighs 3.2 grams.

IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES:
I don't prefer to grade my antique diamonds with the Four C's grading scale which came about later for machine cut diamonds with mathematically perfected facets. Their uniqueness and quirks are expected and part of their charm, and my diamond reports (as below) are more detailed for each individual stone than a letter grade would be and can be translated as such if preferred.

Delicious antique diamonds for the most part eye clean. For the center stone - the facet junctions of the open culet (or meetpoints) have a few frosty spots (similar to the frosted girdle of an antique diamond), this being just how it was hand cut and polished, but this is slightly eye visible when looking through the stone when they catch the light. The stone with the elongated culet has a very tiny smattering of carbon, three very small spots in one area that is very slightly eye visible (and not at all to my eyes which are in their forties : )

Typical for antique diamonds, they have a varying slight warmth to them as we often see (and were often intentionally chosen and still sought after by collectors) during this period. These were cut during a period when the mines produced warmer rough, the center stone reading a bit whiter than the elongated ones, and the one with the longer culet reading the most warm of the three, in part due to the way they were cut. No chips nicks or damage.

Love these wonky cuts!

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 glaring issues above and they are all still wearable.
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

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 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#dmq.!2^