Thursday, September 15, 2011

Seeking: The Unicorn of Engagement Rings


ESB,

Do you know of any great vintage jewelry shops? I’ve found Erstwhile, but any other recommendations would be most appreciated. I’m looking for an Art Deco, preferably rose cut ring.

Thanks!

*****

Funny you should ask... I've finally landed a vintage jewelry sponsor, and I could not be more stoked.

Badass + Modern + Antique = THE TRIFECTA

I emailed my guy at EraGem to ask which of his Art Deco rings are rose cut and he told me "the use of rose cut diamonds predates the art deco period. Art deco jewelry used predominately old european cut diamonds."

Such as:

Here's a (SOLD) example of a late 1800s rose cut ring from Erie Basin:


This would not have been an engagement ring.

Mike says, "Engagement rings weren't always a part of getting married. They seem to start about 1880s late victorian with old miner cut diamonds..."

Here's a (SOLD) example of a Victorian mine cut ring from Erie Basin:

And here's an Art Deco ring with a big ol' mine cut diamond from EraGem (also SOLD):

Mike says "I haven't actually seen an engagement ring with a rose cut center stone..."

The ring you're looking for may not exist.

Pictured at top: Vintage Estate Diamond Cluster Cocktail Ring

29 comments:

  1. Topazery has some nice ones!

    Actually rose cut! (although Edwardian, like the jeweler mentions) That's probably the closest you'll get. I'm assuming by Art Deco you mean the filligree style as pictured above, as well.

    Pretty though

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  2. My engagement ring is from Bela Dora {http://beladora.com/} and they have art deco, not sure about the specific cut though!

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  3. I love the Art Deco engagement rings via Isadora's in Seattle.

    But if it's rose cut you're after...

    Here is a lovely rose cut diamond ring...

    and another.

    Good luck! xo.

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  4. A pretty, fancy rose cut on ebay.

    One with three large rose cuts and a gorgeous shape.

    And a deco diamond and sapphire ring too pretty not to share.

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  5. I know zero about fancy jewelry, but I bought my Art Deco-ish ring at the Etsy shop LuxeDeluxe. They have some cool vintage and vintage-inspired stuff.

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  6. Why not shop around for a Deco or Deco-inspired setting, and then have it fit with whatever stone you'd like? There are almost endless options for settings that you can buy:

    Jans Jewells has literally 223 different round "filigree and Art Deco" settings.

    Also, this:
    rose cut diamond with engraved acanthus leaves

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  7. Rust make some seriously beautiful rose cut engagement rings. Not antique but GORGEOUS.

    http://www.rustwedding.bigcartel.com/

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  8. http://ericaweiner.com/item.php?item_id=676&category_id=54
    Art Deco, Rose cut diamond with sapphire. And a nice price too!

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  9. Singlestone - which is in LA and SF but has a pretty big online presence has many rose cut rings...

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  10. rosecut "engagement" rings DO EXIST. But perhaps not as genuine vintage art deco...
    hit up etsy.

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  11. Why are we assuming this person is looking for an engagement ring? S/he never indicated that was what they want to use a ring for (unless ESB had more correspondence with them and knows something she didn't post).

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  12. If you are in NYC on environs, my fiance bought my engagement ring at Pippin Vintage Jewerly. Most of their stuff is fantasy jewelry (is that the name in English?), but they always have a rolling selection of engagement rings.

    Another shop in NYC that has a bigger (more expensive) inventory is Doyle and Doyle. They have some rings online but it's always good to call or go in to see what else they may have.

    We also went to DuMont Estate Jewelry in SoHo, but didn't see anything we liked on our budget. Though they did have beautiful Victorian rings.

    A word of advice. I thought I wanted an Art Deco ring and ended up with something that to tell you the truth I don't remember what decade is from (either 30's --though not traditionally Art Deco-- or 50s). So it's always nice to go into a store (if you can) and try different rings on and see which one you like. You might be surprised.

    Good luck!

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  13. Er...Ms.Bunny has a good point. Is she looking for an engagement ring or a cocktail ring? (and for that matter, is it a he or a she?)

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  14. Unicorn here - ESB you rock. And thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I love this blog. This is the ring that inspired the inquiry, but I'm not wedded (pun intended) to rose cut. Old European or mine cut or whatever are great, too, I'm mostly looking for Art Deco. Oh, and it is (hopefully) for an upcoming engagement. Keep the links coming!

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  15. Ooohh. I love that ring! Beautiful. Hope you find something similar

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  16. Hey! The Erie Basin Victorian mine cut ring is mine. Getting married in just over 2 weeks (gulp).

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  17. My Edwardian ring came from Sunday and Sunday and I notice they have a number of Art Deco rings right now. They were really great to deal with!

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  18. What about this lovely number from Erica Weiner?
    http://ericaweiner.com/item.php?item_id=666

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  19. OMG ESB! Talk about antique porn!!

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  20. @Hillary *somebody* has got great taste.

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  21. My antique, rose-cut ring came from Binenbaum in Amsterdam - i think they'd probably sell over the phone. The woman running the place is equally wonderful, crazy, and hilarious. She speaks English very well! http://www.binenbaum.com/catalog.php?id=1&path=Rings

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  22. My husband and I found my ring at an antique show. But if you go that route make sure you take someone who knows something about diamonds with you!

    You can also check your local jewelry stores that sell estate pieces.

    One other option, if you find a design that you love you could always get a local jeweler to do a reproduction piece.

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  23. I've got a deco ring... i don't know if i've got a photo of it, though. but you can always hit up some really nice antique stores. they normally have a nice selection of vintage rings.

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  24. My art deco ring came from Erie Basin too! I was pretty into the Conroy and Wilcox rose cut ones, but they are def not antique looking. I was going to mention Single Stone in LA, but saw someone else did. They do some beautiful repro's using rose cut diamonds. Good luck on this amazingly fun quest!

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  25. How about this one? It's a similar shape, similarly simple, but totally beautiful.

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  26. We got my gorge Art Deco antique ring from Brilliant Earth (shop is in SF but their online policy is great - we had it shipped to LA). They have some amazing non-diamond rings as well!

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  27. Hello!!!! I want one of the above.

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