Vintage Jewelry from the Edwardian Period and the Victorian Period

 Vintage jewelry is jewelry that dates from 1950 or before. Estate jewelry includes vintage jewelry and contemporary jewelry. To add to your jewelry wardrobe, you might want to consider a little something from the Edwardian Period or the Victorian Period.

One way you can find vintage jewelry is to look for an estate jewelry store in your area. Look on the internet for an estate jewelry store near you. If you are lucky, you will find an estate jewelry store that sells from their website as well as in person. You are sure to find something you are looking for there.

The Edwardian period dated from 1901-1914. Platinum was the metal that was used primarily. Vintage diamonds from that time period were either Old Mine cut or European cut diamonds. These diamonds had amazing brilliance and fire and were almost always inclusion-free to the unaided eye.

The designs you would find from the Edwardian period would be little pieces of art. Bows, honeycomb patterns, flower garland, and scalloped edges were the major patterns created for vintage engagement rings and platinum jewelry of all kinds. Colored gemstones such as all colors of sapphire, emerald, and ruby were used to accent the jewelry design. Long strands of pearls were popular then as they are today.

The Victorian Period dated from 1837-1901. You will find Queen Victoria’s personal jewelry preferences in everything from that period of time. She loved floral designs, fine scrollwork, and animal themes. Much of her jewelry interest, from the mid-Victorian era, was in heavy yellow gold and colored gemstones as well. Later on, jewelry became more modest. A woman’s jewelry wardrobe might include a strand of pearls, a gold necklace, and a carved or hand-painted brooch with seed pearls.

Historical Wedding Traditions

The antique wedding band has a long tradition dating as far as 860 A. D. Wedding traditions varied greatly between “cultures, ethnic groups, religions and countries”, according to Wikipedia – Wedding.

Roman wedding customs gave way to the engagement ring as a gift. Today, an antique engagement ring would be looked at in the same way. It was worn on the third finger of the left hand, as it is today. It was believed that a nerve ran from the finger directly to the heart.

In Scottish weddings, the custom was to marry just outside the church with a ceremony in the Scottish language. The wedding party and guest then went inside the church for a ceremony in Latin where wedding bands were exchanged believing that the rings symbolically had no beginning or ending. Of course, the event was followed with a marriage kiss.

In Hawaii, very little is known about the old marriage tradition as there is no language of old Hawaii. However, we do know that they exchanged wedding bands symbolizing the sun, the earth and the heavens.

Pope Nicholas, in 860 A. D, told all that the engagement ring was required to seal the marriage. The ring was considered a ring of gold. It wasn’t until 617 years later that adding a diamond to the ring of gold as an engagement ring became popular.

In old England, the tradition of something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, started. Although these customs are used today, few know anything of its relevance.

Something old is symbolic of continuity, usually a piece of lace or an old piece of jewelry. Today, an antique wedding band or vintage wedding band could be used for something old. Something new could even be an antique wedding band and would be considered that something new. It is a new gift to the bride to be. Something borrowed would be symbolic of the future happiness and that was given to the bride by a friend. Something blue meant purity and a band of blue cloth was worn on the bottom of the bride and groom’s wedding attire.

During the time of the knights, the knight would go into a tournament wearing a single flower or a handkerchief from the bride. That has turned into the custom of the groom wearing a flower from the bride’s bouquet.

The white gown was not a symbol of purity but rather, of joy. In 1499, Ann of Brittany started the tradition of the white gown being fashionable wedding attire.

Today, some traditions have changed but many are the same. The diamond engagement ring, the wedding band symbolizing the never ending love between the husband and wife, the white wedding dress, the something blue and the single flower are still a popular tradition today.

The 4 C’s – Carat Weight, Color, Clarity and Cut

 When considering your purchase of an antique engagement ring or vintage style engagement rings, there are four things to take into consideration-carat weight, color, clarity and cut.

Carat is a measure of weight for a diamond. The European Cut diamond as compared to a Round Brilliant of the same millimetre size can weigh as much as 10-15% more because of cut.  Most diamonds are under one carat and are measured in points.  One hundred points are equal to one carat, (1.00ct) whereas three-quarters of a carat is equal to, (.75ct).  Diamonds are usually purchased in “magic” numbers according to The Gemological Institute of America.  Those “magic” numbers are .25ct, .50ct, .75ct and 1.00ct. As it relates to size, a 1.00ct engagement ring vs. a .90ct is not discernable to the naked eye, but its cost is considerably more expensive.  When purchasing your diamond ring, just stay under the carat mark and you will save quite a bit of money.

Color is graded from D-F which is colorless to Z which is light yellow.

D-F              Colorless

G-J              Near Colorless

K-M             Faint Yellow

N-Z              Very Light to Light Yellow

After Z        Fancy Yellow

A great place to be when purchasing your diamond is in the Near Colorless range because the eye can hardly differentiate between Colorless to Near Colorless.  Your European Cut vintage style engagement ring can easily go to the M in the color range because the cut of this diamond camouflages its color beautifully and it will face up white.

Clarity ranges from Flawless to highly Imperfect according to The Gemological Institute of America and the grading takes into consideration the size of the inclusion, crystals or blemishes and its location. Grading is done with 10x magnification and assumes it is graded by a trained diamond specialist.  The grading is as follows:

FL                Flawless

IF                 Internally Flawless

VVS             Extremely difficult to see

VS                Slightly difficult to somewhat easy to see

SI                 Easy to see or eye visible

I                   Imperfect diamonds, heavily included and can affect durability

A great place to be all things considered is in the VS to SI1 range.

Cut refers to the faceting and not to shape – oval and princess cut, for example. Basically, when referring to the cut of a diamond, we can focus our thoughts on two different styles, the Round Brilliant and the European Cut diamond. The European Cut diamond, from the 19th century and earlier, is characteristically different from the 20th century Round Brilliant Cut. It has fewer facets and is hand cut in a way that enhances color and gives beautiful brilliance. 

The table of a European Cut is smaller than the Round Brilliant. The crown angles are higher making it heavier on top than the Round Brilliant of the same millimeter size. The thicker girdle is not  faceted. The pavilion is deeper and the culet is open.  It does not come to a point as it does today. It was designed to bring light in from the top and reflect back if looking at the diamond from the top. All of these factors taken into consideration improve the color. The European Cut is very popular now, as the Round Brilliant Cut diamonds cannot replace the unique and romantic antique diamond rings in vintage settings today.

Round Brilliant Cut diamonds were created by Marcel Tolkowsky and are cut to very specific calculations. They are more cone-shaped than the European Cut diamonds and have 58 or more facets.  The table is larger and the girdle, which is the section that separates the table from the pavilion, is faceted. The pavilion is not as high and it does not have a culet.  It comes to a point on the bottom. Polish and symmetry are also taken into consideration and every facet has the potential to change the rays of light giving it a lot of brilliance.

Buy Tips For Vintage Jewelry

 If you would like to purchase a piece of fine vintage jewelry, maybe a vintage engagement ring from the Edwardian period or a vintage brooch from the Art Nouveau period, you need only look for an estate jewelry store for exactly what you are looking for.

Estate jewelry is jewelry that has been previously owned. It could be vintage or contemporary. Vintage jewelry is jewelry that is 50 years old, so that would be from 1950 or before.

Vintage jewelry from the 1940’s or 1950’s is called Retro jewelry. These pieces are often in yellow, pink or green gold with large stone, swirls and or synthetic rubies and natural diamonds.

The Art Deco period from 1920-1935 contains some of the most fascinating jewelry you can find. Engagement rings, vintage brooches and other vintage jewelry were often made in platinum. Vintage engagement rings contained lots of filigree interspersed with delicate small diamonds. The center diamond was always a European cut or old mine cut. You would often time find synthetic sapphires, natural rubies or natural emeralds used as accents.

Brooches were also made with filigree, diamonds, colored stones and pearls. Often time, you can find a brooch that was used as a brooch or as a pendant. The back of the brooch contains a pin that goes just a little past the length of the brooch for use as a brooch and it would also hold a bail that could be flipped up for use as a necklace.

Dangle earrings were also popular during the Art Deco period. They contained diamonds, synthetic sapphires and natural rubies and emeralds. Bracelets had geometric shapes containing European cut diamonds and often time colored stones as accents.

The Art Nouveau period, which is my favorite time period for jewelry, lasted from 1890-1905. Most of the jewelry was made in gold with sensuous flowing lines. The Art Nouveau period created pieces of jewelry art using butterflies or dragonflies in flight, flowers, snakes or bats. This time was also known for using the shapes of a woman or a woman’s head with flowing hair. Plique a jour, a form of enameling, was also used. The gemstones used were pastel in color like moonstone, citrine, peridot and pearls.

These are just some of the vintage time period jewelry you could consider. You could also look for jewelry from the Edwardian period, 1901-1910 or the Victorian period, 1837-1901 as well. There is so much to pick from to add a different little something for every outfit you wear.

All About Jewelry & Its Definition

 When selecting the vintage engagement ring and wedding bands for yourself and your fiancée, it is important to know a little something about jewelry terminology.

Settings

Bezel Setting

The diamond sits on a plate of platinum or gold and is surrounded by a wall of metal that is perpendicular to the plate.

Prong Setting

Prong setting is different from bezel setting in that equal parts of the bezel are removed leaving prongs to cover the edge of the diamond. The Tiffany solitaire setting is prong set.

Bead Setting

Bead setting is different from prong setting in that small beads of platinum or gold are pushed over the edge to secure the diamond. Pave setting is bead setting over an expanded area of diamonds.

Channel Setting

This is a procedure where diamonds are set side by side along a groove and are secured by hammering the sides of the channel wall over the edge of the diamonds.

Invisible Setting

Diamonds are set in such a way that no metal is showing. No prongs, beads, channels or bezels are used. Grooves in the diamond girdle are set into a metal framework below the surface giving the illusion of diamonds suspended without any metal around the diamond.

Parts of the Engagement Ring

Head

The head of the ring is the top of the ring, the prongs and setting that hold the diamond.

Shoulder

The shoulder is the top part of the band of the ring next to the head.

Shank

The shank is the lower part of the band of the ring.

Types of Metal

Platinum

Platinum is a metal that comes out of the ground pure and white. It is soft but tough and pliable. It is resistant to knocks and will last for generations.

Gold

Gold is mixed with other metals (alloys) to make it strong enough for jewelry. For instance, 14 karat gold is 14 part gold and 10 part alloys. White gold is yellow gold mixed with certain alloys such as zinc or nickel to make it white. It must be rhodium plated (a type of platinum plating) to cover any hint of yellow. Pure gold is 24 karat and is too soft for jewelry.

Ring Re-sizing

Ring resizing is done when a ring becomes too large or too tight. A ring is too large when it keeps falling off. It is too tight after weight gain, during pregnancy or after eating too much salt. When the ring is consistently too tight, it should be resized to make it more comfortable. Ring resizing does not hurt the ring.

Re-tipping

Retipping is a procedure where prongs have been broken and need to be replaced or retipped with the original metal for the safety of the diamond.

Engagement Ring

An engagement ring is the first ring given to the woman at the time of the proposal. It is typically a diamond engagement ring but the stone could be a colored gemstone as well.

Wedding Band

A wedding band is a band that is given at the time of the wedding. It can be made of platinum, gold or other durable metal.

Eternity Band

An eternity band is a wedding band that contains diamonds or colored gemstones that go all the way around the ring.

Anniversary Band

An anniversary band is a band with diamonds or gemstones that are contained on the top of the ring going half-way around. It can be used as a wedding band or can be given as a gift for an anniversary.

Carat

Carat has to do with the weight of the diamond. One hundred points equal one carat. For instance, a three quarter carat diamond is written .75ct.

Karat

Karat has to do with the measure of the purity of gold, fourteen karat (14kt) or eighteen karat (18kt).

How to Tell If Your Diamond Is Real

How would I tell if my vintage diamond engagement ring is real? I bought it from an individual and I want to confirm what it is.

1. The first thing you can do is to take it to a reputable estate jewelry store to authenticate the age of your vintage diamond engagement ring. He or she can also tell you immediately if your diamond engagement ring is real and from what time period it is from.

2. You can breathe on the stone. If it fogs up, it is most likely not a diamond. A fake diamond will fog up immediately.

3. If the diamond is out of the mounting, drop the stone in a glass of water. If it floats it is not a diamond.

4. Draw a line on a piece of paper. Hold the stone over the line. If you can see the line through it, then it is not a diamond.

5. If you look into a diamond and you see flecks of black in it, it probably is a diamond. Picking the right diamond is an easy task. Just go to a reputable antique vintage jeweler. He or she can help you find a diamond that does not have any black spots inclusions to the naked eye. In fact, vintage diamonds are very often free of pique to the unaided eye.

6. Look to see if your stone is slightly greenish in color. It may be a moissanite, a man made diamond. Be careful. If you hold it over a line, you won’t see the line as you would with a cubic zirconia.

7. If your diamond is out of the mounting, a jeweler can weigh the stone for you. A diamond weighs 1.5 times more than a cubic zirconia.

8. If the diamond is being sold at a ridiculously low price, it probably is not a diamond. You have heard the saying, “You get what you pay for”. In this case, it applies.