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#JOTW Old cut five stone ring

acaw2015

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Gorgeous new-to-you ring! I love it. Wear it in much happiness. That family picture is pretty awesome too! :clap:
Thank you Sandeek!
 

acaw2015

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Yummy ring.:kiss2: Chunkalicious faceting goodness. And buttery richness. LOVE. And that family pic is just :love:

Thank you missy!
 

acaw2015

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Absolutely beautiful. Do you know if they are OECs or OMCs? That could potentially help date the ring. Here's a link to a description differentiating the two: https://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/old-mine-cut-diamond/

I have an early 1800s ring with similar tiny diamonds; a jeweler looked at it and said they were more or less polished but not cut pieces of diamond, i forget what he called the cut style. It's possible that rather than being rose cut, your melee is polished chips. Either way it seems likely that with those style of diamonds the cutting would probably date it to the Victorian Era.

Thank you for your link and story! Interesting! I believe that the five larger stones are old european cuts. I am sure that they are not OMCs. The facet pattern structure is the same as in your link for the oecs, but the facets are irregular. They seem to follow the oec pattern but the facets arent exactly meeting (sorry for the lack of diamond vocabulary here!) and are in different sizes. I would also say that the two smaller stones of the five are even less structured in the facet pattern, I get the feeling that they may even be off-round in shape.

I agree, I also believe that the smaller stones may be polished chips. I called them gravel when I described them to my husband. :lol: They are also in very different sizes and shapes and they are not very well polished, I can make out straight lines on some tables with my loupe... But they do sparkle!

I am trying to take pictures trough my loupe, but ah, my photo taking skills are not the best. :saint:

I love the ring and stones either way, but would love to know more of the age and style.
 

paperunicorn

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Dec 10, 2018
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Gosh, she really is just stunning.The irregularity of the facets is quite common in older jewelry, as they were all cut by hand and without the precision tools we have today. Your stones do appear to have the "flower", and the small size of the culet indicates that they are certainly OECs rather than Old Miners.

Based on the irregularity of the facets, I would date your ring probably prior to 1874 which was when the machine was invented which made it possible to obtain greater precision. Does she have any hallmarks? That might make it possible to date with greater specificity, but I feel comfortable saying your ring is Victorian.
 

acaw2015

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Gosh, she really is just stunning.The irregularity of the facets is quite common in older jewelry, as they were all cut by hand and without the precision tools we have today. Your stones do appear to have the "flower", and the small size of the culet indicates that they are certainly OECs rather than Old Miners.

Based on the irregularity of the facets, I would date your ring probably prior to 1874 which was when the machine was invented which made it possible to obtain greater precision. Does she have any hallmarks? That might make it possible to date with greater specificity, but I feel comfortable saying your ring is Victorian.

I cant thank you enough! But then that makes this ring antique..! Not sure I dare to wear her now, I will be sure to take well care of her. Not that 1930s (as I thought) means I would throw her around, but pre 1874... :eek2:

Please come back and comment again, I will try to take better pictures of the stones. The only hallmark I have found is the 18 k stamp. I did notice that the girdle on some of the stones is grey/sandpaper/frosted. Not sure if that says anything. I am having a lot of fun louping this ring!

:wavey:
 

paperunicorn

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Dec 10, 2018
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I cant thank you enough! But then that makes this ring antique..! Not sure I dare to wear her now, I will be sure to take well care of her. Not that 1930s (as I thought) means I would throw her around, but pre 1874... :eek2:

Please come back and comment again, I will try to take better pictures of the stones. The only hallmark I have found is the 18 k stamp. I did notice that the girdle on some of the stones is grey/sandpaper/frosted. Not sure if that says anything. I am having a lot of fun louping this ring!

:wavey:

Please do wear her! Jewels are meant to be worn, and if she's survived over 150 years she's certainly sturdy enough to wear. My most treasured ring is a Georgian rose cut ring I've named Theodora, and I wear her every day. If you have any doubts, take her to a jeweler and have them make sure her prongs and such are secure, and simply keep up on having her cleaned every once in a while.

The frosting on the girdle may be foiling, which was a common technique used to increase the stones' sparkle :)
 

acaw2015

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Please do wear her! Jewels are meant to be worn, and if she's survived over 150 years she's certainly sturdy enough to wear. My most treasured ring is a Georgian rose cut ring I've named Theodora, and I wear her every day. If you have any doubts, take her to a jeweler and have them make sure her prongs and such are secure, and simply keep up on having her cleaned every once in a while.

The frosting on the girdle may be foiling, which was a common technique used to increase the stones' sparkle :)

A simple Google search just now gave me a few similar rings, all marked Victorian, one dated to 1880. Not that Google is a great source :lol: but it sure is interesting.

You are right, a ring is meant to be worn and loved. I will take well care of it!

Foiling sounds like something that can come off..? Should I be worried?

Off to search for pictures of your ring. :halo:
 

paperunicorn

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Dec 10, 2018
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A simple Google search just now gave me a few similar rings, all marked Victorian, one dated to 1880. Not that Google is a great source :lol: but it sure is interesting.

You are right, a ring is meant to be worn and loved. I will take well care of it!

Foiling sounds like something that can come off..? Should I be worried?

Off to search for pictures of your ring. :halo:
It can come off, but a jeweler with experience taking care of antique rings will know how to clean it gently. A well diluted solution of dawn dish soap in hot water can also work if you don't have access to a jeweler.
 

acaw2015

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It can come off, but a jeweler with experience taking care of antique rings will know how to clean it gently. A well diluted solution of dawn dish soap in hot water can also work if you don't have access to a jeweler.

Looking again more closely I very much doubt foiling, it looks more like the girdles simply havent been polished. Feels a bit reassuring! But I will take your advice and be gentle when cleaning it!
 

DorotheaBrooke

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Mar 6, 2014
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Now this is a ring with character. The rich gold and chunky facets are gorgeous!
 

MamaBess

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Jun 28, 2018
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Absolutely perfectly stunning! I love the group shot, too.
 

DanniiD

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Jan 7, 2018
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Could u share where u purchased this? I’ve been on the hunt for something similar!
 

acaw2015

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Jun 30, 2015
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Could u share where u purchased this? I’ve been on the hunt for something similar!
I bought it at a big EU based auction site. No one made a bid for it so I was able to buy it for the reserved price incl free return. I had been looking at this site for 2-3 years, this was the first time an oec five stone appeared. I almost bought an emerald/oec ring last fall but it wasnt in my finger size...
I assume that you know this already, but it is a good idea to keep an eye at action houses for this type of jewelry.
 

steviedsgirl

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Dec 29, 2016
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Don't you just love that swirly mounting? I have one old (OLD) 5-stone in a curly, rosy-gold mounting and one "newer" 5-stone in a plat/YG mounting, and I love them both for different reasons. :)
 

ac117

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Gorgeous!!! :love:
 

acaw2015

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Jun 30, 2015
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910
Don't you just love that swirly mounting? I have one old (OLD) 5-stone in a curly, rosy-gold mounting and one "newer" 5-stone in a plat/YG mounting, and I love them both for different reasons. :)

Agree! I love looking at the details, thinking of how much work must have been put into it.
 
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