Mouse's House Antiques
One Carat CHAMPAGNE Old Mine Cut DIAMOND French Antique 18k Gold Gadroon Gypsy Ring
One Carat CHAMPAGNE Old Mine Cut DIAMOND French Antique 18k Gold Gadroon Gypsy Ring
ABOUT:
A sturdy wide band antique gadroon gypsy ring with the added bonus of a chunky and colored old mine cut diamond. This natural earth mined untreated diamond appears as a greenish yellow under lit magnification, but while wearing displays a beautiful warm brown to champagne color depending on the lighting and angle the stone is viewed under. Sometimes the coloring of my antique diamonds is more subtle but the hues on this one are quite noticeable, highly sought after and so lovely. The high crown crops out of the bezel with the 18k gold setting presenting a heavy hand feel and gorgeous antique patina.
Gypsy bands are always very popular in the shop. This Paris find is scarce and sought after for a few reasons - the first is that all antique hand cut antique diamonds of course have a more limited supply since they are no longer made in this way. There are only so many in existence compared to the millions of carats of modern machine cut diamonds made every year. These have withstood the test of time.
The second is the color - it is believed that only 1 carat in every 10,000 carats mined are diamonds with hues. So putting the old hand cut together with the color makes a champagne OMC even more scarce. Especially one of this size with such a chunky cut.
Another added bonus is that the diamond is eye clean with only the faintest inclusions seen only when studying the piece under strong, lit magnification. It can actually be more common to find inclusions particularly in champagne diamonds because of how they were naturally formed, but that is not the case here so this is a special stone.
The shank is a domed "gadroon" setting which comes from the French meaning of a "form with wavy edges".
Please note the measurements as I have small fingers and it can be difficult to determine scale from pictures.
This would be a wonderful gift - right hand ring, statement piece, or stacker.
French hallmark for 18k gold, it is yellow gold with a buttery glow, with some rosy highlights to the raised areas from age and patina. This is something highly sought after as this special coloring cannot be found on new jewelry.
Antique box not included.
SIZE & MEASUREMENTS:
It is currently a size 8. 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 8.8mm north south. It is 5.6mm tall off the finger with the high crown of the diamond. It weighs a very sturdy 9.2g.
I do not remove my stones from their antique settings for exact measurements but the diamond measures about 6.8mm by 5.6mm by 4mm and calculates to a about one full carat estimated.
CONDITION NOTES:
All my pieces are pre-owned and in estate condition. As mentioned previously this is an exceptional antique diamond. I look at antique diamonds all day every day. 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 this diamond has a really better than most clarity and a wonderful color. So even though the stone was made long before the 4 C's existed, it is quite special. The edges of the crown facet do have some scuffs and nibbles and tiny nicks at the corners where the facets meet from wear and age but no frosty shards of loss or cracks. The piece also has some tiny speck inclusions. There is one very small triangular crease on the edge facet - I can't tell if it is a nick or an indented natural inclusion, it is so small. Of all these notes, none of this is eye visible so the stone remains an exceptional quality but please refer to the zoom photos which make any diamond look way worse than it would while wearing : ) The stone does click when you tap it, but it secure in the sturdy bezel, it does not have much movement and does not rattle when wearing, I just mention it because I intentionally check for every small thing. 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:
Please feel free watch @mouseshouseantiques on Instagram for inventory drops, sneak peaks and previews! And check out my website www.MousesHouseAntiques.com as I can add more pics there so you can get extra looks : )
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. : ). I always study each diamond in detail under strong magnification so I describe everything that I see, which can be compared against the 4 C's scale if desired.
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