ABOUT:
Another all original French vintage ring from Paris! This one has a chunky and clean old mine cut diamond measuring about 1.55 carat set into a ruffly illusion setting crafted in 18k white gold and platinum.
It's a beautiful antique stone with great clarity for the period in a pronged setting with a ruffled base. This serves as an illusion setting by surrounding the diamond in a white metal to make it appear larger on the hand. Beautiful how the diamond is suspended with a bit of height to view the stone from all sides while yet remaining comfortable.
And with sturdy prongs, this one is ready for regular wear! Which we always love to find on older vintage and antique pieces like this one.
Found in France with their hallmarks but they are quite faint from the setting having been polished and worn. This is a common occurrence with French pieces due to their stamping location. I can still make them out because I've seen them thousands of times but I tested it as well to confirm the 18k white gold and platinum fabrication.
In my own collecting, I don’t typically rely on the "Four C’s" for antique diamonds, cut in a much more limited supply than the millions of carats of modern diamonds created each year now. This is partly because the grades are subjective and can be misleading, don't do these very rare stones justice, and the quirks are part of their history and character. My items sell well without paperwork as my listings are very detailed and I prefer not to take apart my vintage and antique pieces to send off the stone for fear of damaging the stones and settings (it has happened to me more than once as a buyer and a seller). But estimates to M/N in color and VS in clarity. See also below as my descriptions always provide more detail than a letter grade provides, and all quirks and eccentricities are always pointed out.
Feel free to check Instagram for additional videos as I have several and it is the best way to view the stone.
Antique box not included.
Please note the measurements as I have small fingers and the pictures can make it difficult to see scale.
SIZE & MEASUREMENTS:
Size 4 3/4, certainly sturdy enough to size and the hallmarks can be avoided. Best to discuss with your local jeweler who would be doing to work to determine their comfort level as to what extent they would be able to size it.
The diamond is about 7mm and measures about 1.55 carat with a chunky cut. I don't remove diamonds from their antique settings for fear of damage (the Four C's scale doesn't apply well to antique stones anyway) so this is an estimated measurement of the stone while set.
The piece weighs 3.2 grams. It stands 6.9mm off the finger. The illusion setting is 9.7mm north south.
IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES:
Better than most clarity for age considering the rarity of original antique diamonds having always been in much more limited supply compared to mass produced modern stones.
There is one indented natural inclusion on the girdle edge that under magnification can sometimes reflect to one spot in the outline of the stone but it faces up completely eye clean. GIA defines this as a dent that occurs under the surface of a diamond as a result of the diamond cutter's decision not to polish it off, because doing so could end up harming the diamond so the cutters would work around it - this is not considered a defect or blemish, but a natural characteristic of the stone and is seen under magnification when you view the stone from the side at eye level. There are three other even smaller flecks to the girdle edge that are not eye visible and again are natural characteristics of the stone when it was cut in the old methods before modern technology.
The stone does have some warmth to pale yellow which is typical for the period having been cut during a period when the mines in use produced warmer rough in general. It does have a bit of blue fluorescence which serves as a color corrector, yet without making the stone appear cloudy in direct light as can sometimes occur. In some light the hue is noticeable, and in others it faces up whiter, another phenomenon of antique hand cut stones. I showed it in photos with all different lighting conditions to show it responds in various environments.
The prongs are excellent so it is ready for regular wear.
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:
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 : )
All items hand picked by me, one at a time from all over the world. All listings individually written by me, and not AI, after studying each piece to discuss its beauties and its ; ) eccentricities (which I am picky to point out).
Box#dmst.*^2
More notes 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 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 hite 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 the antique period! So it is less about their grades and more about the unique play of light and color that each one can offer. As one of many articles puts it: “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.”
