THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT ~
Type: Ring
Materials: Diamond, 18k White Gold, Platinum
Size: 8 1/2, Diamond weight: 1 1/3 Carat Tdw
Era: Early 1900s
ABOUT:
Glitter encrusted geometric panel ring with chunky center old mine cut diamond cropping out of the ring face. The large rectangular lozenge face is set with 14 transitional cut diamonds surrounding the center OMC. Of those 14, four are little diamond spacers set at the corners between the prongs to give the ring face a great cobblestone look with amazing sparkle.
This French Belle Epoque era ring is from the early 1900s is crafted in 18k white gold and platinum. No hallmarks remain which is common for French antiques but sold to me as such and tested. The underside of the ring face is openwork with arching triangular designs to add interest at any angle.
It has a nice size footprint on the finger and totals around 1 1/3 carat total weight in diamonds so it has an amazing sparkle.
Antique box not included.
MEASUREMENTS:
Size 8 1/2, just slightly over. The ring face is 15x12mm and stands 5.2mm off the finger. The center diamond is about 5mm with a high crown / thick and chunky cut so it is around .55 carat alone. Each of the 10 transitional cuts is about 2.6mm and then the four smaller spaces are about 1.5mm. Exact carat weight is not known as I would not remove the stones from the setting, but just using estimates by mm it is around 1 1/3 carat (1.33Ctw Tdw). It weighs 3.8 grams.
IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES:
All my pieces are preowned and in estate condition. Typical antique diamonds with a very very slight warmth to the center stone which has a great clarity with no eye visible inclusions and only the tiniest speck seen under strong lit magnification. One of the small diamonds has a shallow frosty spot from a flake of loss to the surface at one edge. Again only under magnification. No dark specks or dark inclusions. The center stone moves the tiniest fraction of a millimeter but is secure in the bezel. Typical for age, a worn prong here and there to keep an eye on over time but all the stones are secure. Uniform surface wear. It is such an interesting piece, fun to wear and stack.
But as with all my estate pieces - Please note this is not a mint condition item.
Thanks so much for looking at my items!
SOCIAL:
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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.”
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#Mst.!)@3
