I am selling an assortment of antique jewelry which I have hunted for and gathered from around the world. Please see my other offerings - thanks for stopping by!
ABOUT:
Ever popular old mine cut diamond cluster ring - I can't seem to acquire enough of these!
Awesome French antique Art Deco era piece with an ornate gallery leading up to the chunky glittery cluster of nine stones crafted in 18k white gold. The center is the largest with a nice high crown. It is surrounded by a halo of eight slightly smaller old mine cuts for a versatile and impactful look.
I got this in France, it has the French hallmark for 18k gold struck to the outside of the double shank.
Antique box not included. Please note the measurements as I have small hands and it can be difficult to decipher scale from photos.
SIZE & MEASUREMENTS:
The ring is a size 7 1/2. The piece weighs a sturdy 4.9 grams.
Exact carat weight is unknown as I would not remove the stones but the largest measures 4.7mm and the majority of the others are about 2.7mm each give or take. Using online calculators and estimates I am getting around 1.1 carat ctw in diamonds.
Stands 8mm off the finger, the ring face is 12.5mm in diameter.
IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES:
All my pieces are pre-owned and in estate condition. This one is ready for daily wear with nice, long prongs holding each stone secured. The center diamond has a nice chunky cut and excellent clarity. The smaller diamonds have some wear like we often see on pieces of this age. Three are chipped with flakes of loss leaving a frosty spot here and there. Some have nibbles to the outside girdles. The stones all still appear pretty compete and round to the eye and fill the setting fairly well yet but if you study them with a loupe you can see them. This is not visible to my eyes which are in their 40s : ) but may be visible to some if studying it up close very strictly.
Typical antique diamonds with irregular cuts as they were hand cut, they have some very small / faint natural inclusions but none of the inclusions are eye visible and I see no dark or carbon spots. Also typical in that they have some warmer hues, you should be able to detect this in the photos and videos as they are true to life with some taken in sunshine which enhances that warmth. I and many other antique jewelry collectors actually enjoy finding these unique characteristics in pieces from the period.
Shank is very sturdy. But Due to age - please note this is not a mint condition item.
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 these stones to enhance them, 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!
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. : )
Thanks so much for looking at my items!
Expedited shipping with signature upon delivery will be at my cost.
Box#Sc.9@3
