shape
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Antique Emerald Cluster Ring

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381
Hello again, fellow bling lovers! :) I was asked by @Big Fat Facets to post a thread about the ring that is my profile picture. I am immensely flattered and pleased that others are interested in this piece that is so dear to me! I wear it every day (it is sharing "hand time" with my moonstone ring, lol) and I love it with all my heart. My husband purchased it for me online, from an antique jewelry seller who also has a brick & mortar store (which I would LOVE to visit!!).
EmeraldRing3.jpg 17.jpg 9.jpg
The ring dates to approximately 1890. I love the daisy style that was typical of that period! The emerald is 1.76 carats and the diamonds, which are OEC & G-H colour, total 3.30 carats. There are French markings for gold and platinum on the outside center band. The markings are TINY and very difficult to photograph, as evinced by the following shot (the best one I could get, out of many tries):

EmeraldRing4.jpg

The shank is 18kt yellow gold, while the head is made of platinum. The prongs in which the emerald is set are 18kt yellow gold. There are a lot of details with regard to the ring's structure; it was entirely hand-made. The diamonds are all different depths and sizes, and so the prongs had to accommodate this. The maker of this ring did a beautiful job of making sure the diamonds were set according to their individual requirements, while maintaining an overall symmetry to the ring. Here are some side views:
15.jpg 12.jpg 8.jpg 11.jpg
And some hand shots (or should they be called "action shots"? ;-) ):
EmeraldRing5.jpg EmeraldRing2.jpg EmeraldRing1.jpg

I couldn't resist including a couple of shots of the daisy cluster with a more modern, streamlined design. Both rings are stunning but I think there is more charm inherent within the daisy cluster ring; it simply has more personality to me. Both emeralds are amazing and glow beautifully. The 'modern' emerald is more blue-ish, with some black specks, while the 'antique' emerald is more yellow and, aside from a bit of jardin (which I love, and which is why lab emeralds are just not as nice in my opinion), clear and flawless.

21.jpg 25.jpg

Thank you, @Big Fat Facets, for requesting this thread. My husband and I had a great time taking the photographs! If you would like more photos or anything else, please let me know :)
 

Attachments

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Big Fat Facets

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 7, 2019
Messages
1,468
YES!!! Tripping over myself, to see this!!

Thank you emerald city, ever so much!!

such an amazing amazing ring! I LOVE it!!!

it has such a beautiful fresh spring garden green GLOW.

i love the larger, old cut, white diamond surrounding the gorgeous emerald!

i absolutely adore, the way, the entire ring is constructed, actually.

will you reveal the jeweler with whom you purchased the ring from??
 
Last edited:

Christinak

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 2, 2016
Messages
442
Hello again, fellow bling lovers! :) I was asked by @Big Fat Facets to post a thread about the ring that is my profile picture. I am immensely flattered and pleased that others are interested in this piece that is so dear to me! I wear it every day (it is sharing "hand time" with my moonstone ring, lol) and I love it with all my heart. My husband purchased it for me online, from an antique jewelry seller who also has a brick & mortar store (which I would LOVE to visit!!).
EmeraldRing3.jpg 17.jpg 9.jpg
The ring dates to approximately 1890. I love the daisy style that was typical of that period! The emerald is 1.76 carats and the diamonds, which are OEC & G-H colour, total 3.30 carats. There are French markings for gold and platinum on the outside center band. The markings are TINY and very difficult to photograph, as evinced by the following shot (the best one I could get, out of many tries):

EmeraldRing4.jpg

The shank is 18kt yellow gold, while the head is made of platinum. The prongs in which the emerald is set are 18kt yellow gold. There are a lot of details with regard to the ring's structure; it was entirely hand-made. The diamonds are all different depths and sizes, and so the prongs had to accommodate this. The maker of this ring did a beautiful job of making sure the diamonds were set according to their individual requirements, while maintaining an overall symmetry to the ring. Here are some side views:
15.jpg 12.jpg 8.jpg 11.jpg
And some hand shots (or should they be called "action shots"? ;-) ):
EmeraldRing5.jpg EmeraldRing2.jpg EmeraldRing1.jpg

I couldn't resist including a couple of shots of the daisy cluster with a more modern, streamlined design. Both rings are stunning but I think there is more charm inherent within the daisy cluster ring; it simply has more personality to me. Both emeralds are amazing and glow beautifully. The 'modern' emerald is more blue-ish, with some black specks, while the 'antique' emerald is more yellow and, aside from a bit of jardin (which I love, and which is why lab emeralds are just not as nice in my opinion), clear and flawless.

21.jpg 25.jpg

Thank you, @Big Fat Facets, for requesting this thread. My husband and I had a great time taking the photographs! If you would like more photos or anything else, please let me know :)

Beautiful ring :kiss2:
 

Ally T

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Oct 24, 2012
Messages
8,507
I have also wondered about your avatar & my word, she is a stunner! I love everything about this - the design, the romance, the age, the glow, the hand cut diamonds..... It's simply glorious :kiss2:
 

Musia

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Mar 28, 2020
Messages
1,073
Thank you for sharing the pictures of this majestic ring! It is a real treasure!
 

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381
YES!!! Tripping over myself, to see this!!

Thank you emerald city, ever so much!!

such an amazing amazing ring! I LOVE it!!!

it has such a beautiful fresh spring garden green GLOW.

i love the larger, old cut, white diamond surrounding the gorgeous emerald!

i absolutely adore, the way, the entire ring is constructed, actually.

will you reveal the jeweler with whom you purchased the ring from??

:kiss2: You have really made my day, thank you so much!! :):):)

I purchased this ring from Brenda Ginsberg Antiques: https://vintage-antique-jewelry.com/shop/
She also has an Etsy shop, and I think she's on eBay, but I wouldn't swear to it. I found the ring on her Etsy page and my husband ultimately purchased it through her private Web site. Her reviews are kind of mixed, but my husband didn't have any problems with her at all. She is open to reasonable price offers and had a really wonderful and varied selection of baubles, the last time I checked. I hope you find something you love from her shop, I couldn't be happier with this ring :)
Oh, and because I wasn't happy with the shipping experience with my moonstone ring, I will also mention that Brenda sent the emerald cluster ring via free overnight shipping, in a padded box, with a really nice ring box that I still use to store my ring at night. My husband and I were very pleased with this part of the transaction!
 
Last edited:

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381
I have also wondered about your avatar & my word, she is a stunner! I love everything about this - the design, the romance, the age, the glow, the hand cut diamonds..... It's simply glorious :kiss2:

:) Thank you so much for your kind words!!! I am humbled to hear you say this! I love my ring for the very reasons you name. I am intrigued by her 130-year history and I wonder every day whom she belonged to before, and who originally purchased her. The ring is a size 7.25 and that would have been a relatively large size back around 1890. I'm really glad of its size, because I would have hated to resize it, and would probably have passed on buying it because resizing something like this, what with the stamps on the outside shank, would have felt sacrilegious.
 

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381
Thank you for sharing the pictures of this majestic ring! It is a real treasure!

You are too kind! It is definitely not mass-produced and would be very difficult to replace, so I guess it is a treasure in a sense :) It is a lovely piece and I am honoured that you would call it 'majestic.' That means a lot to me; thank you so much. :)
 

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381
By the way, I have no idea how two of the photos are listed as "Attachments" at the bottom of my post. I had a lot of trouble uploading the photos (images took forever to upload and mostly wound up cancelling themselves) so maybe that had something to do with it. My apologies for the extra "attachments."
 

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381
A-ha! I found the seller's composite photo, in which the metal stamp can be seen a bit more clearly. Just in case someone was curious about the French metal stamps :) FrenchEmerald3.jpg
 

Big Fat Facets

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 7, 2019
Messages
1,468
:kiss2: You have really made my day, thank you so much!! :):):)

I purchased this ring from Brenda Ginsberg Antiques: https://vintage-antique-jewelry.com/shop/
She also has an Etsy shop, and I think she's on eBay, but I wouldn't swear to it. I found the ring on her Etsy page and my husband ultimately purchased it through her private Web site. Her reviews are kind of mixed, but my husband didn't have any problems with her at all. She is open to reasonable price offers and had a really wonderful and varied selection of baubles, the last time I checked. I hope you find something you love from her shop, I couldn't be happier with this ring :)
Oh, and because I wasn't happy with the shipping experience with my moonstone ring, I will also mention that Brenda sent the emerald cluster ring via free overnight shipping, in a padded box, with a really nice ring box that I still use to store my ring at night. My husband and I were very pleased with this part of the transaction!

I do hope, you have been feeling much much better. Thinking of you and may you be much improved, easier and more comfortable
 

DauphineMucha

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 13, 2010
Messages
386
Did you also get the emerald cut emerald ring too?

Love the open gallery design of your new ring! Much prefer this design than the usual closed one. Easy to clean and I quite enjoy seeing the pavilions of all the old cuts too! Enjoy and amazing green color play!
 

Bron357

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 22, 2014
Messages
6,532
O O O my ring size.:appl:
Its absolutely stunning, a very fine piece of antique French jewellery. Rare and desirable. Lucky Lady, excellent Husband.
Your other ring is lovely as well but when you put it alongside that French beauty.......
 

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381
I do hope, you have been feeling much much better. Thinking of you and may you be much improved, easier and more comfortable

You are incredibly sweet. Thank you, my friend. <3
 

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381
Did you also get the emerald cut emerald ring too?

Love the open gallery design of your new ring! Much prefer this design than the usual closed one. Easy to clean and I quite enjoy seeing the pavilions of all the old cuts too! Enjoy and amazing green color play!

I did get the square-cut emerald as well :) My husband is well aware that emeralds are my favourite gemstone and he bought both of these beauties for me :) The newer ring was purchased from a different vendor. They're on Etsy also.

I prefer the open gallery, as well. The moonstone ring I just purchased has a closed gallery and I did not fully appreciate how much of a pain it is to clean such a design until it arrived. I like turning the cluster ring over sometimes and marveling at how different the diamonds all are :) Modern rings would have every diamond the same and that's certainly beautiful, and saleable, but there is such charm in the old-style rings where they were playing diamond derby!

The colour play is really amazing. The emerald is a good one, very high-end and it... well, it really does *glow*. It's mesmerizing. Thank you so much for complimenting the stone :)
 

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381
O O O my ring size.:appl:
Its absolutely stunning, a very fine piece of antique French jewellery. Rare and desirable. Lucky Lady, excellent Husband.
Your other ring is lovely as well but when you put it alongside that French beauty.......

Oh I agree, I am a lucky lady and my husband is amazing! He kind of skimped on the whole engagement/wedding ring thing but he more than made up for it later :) He is my best friend. <3

I love both rings but the cluster ring is my favourite!! I feel fortunate to have found it as I do recognise how rare it is. To be honest, I didn't understand that at the time; all I saw was a lovely ring that fit what I was looking for. Then I did some research and was blown away - such rings really are hard to find, especially in almost-mint condition. The emerald has a few tiny scratches and the shank has some scratching as well, but the ring is around 130 years old - it's in amazing shape!

Thank you so much for your kind comments, they are most appreciated :)
 

DauphineMucha

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 13, 2010
Messages
386
Would you pls show us more of your square cut emerald ring too! How smashing that you get to pick which one to wear!

I would rock them together! :mrgreen:
 

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381

Slickk

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 3, 2013
Messages
4,926
Wow!!! That is one lovely chunky cluster! The color of the emerald is perfect and those halo stones...speechless. So unique and special.
 

maryjane04

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 21, 2013
Messages
1,531
Oh that is such a beautiful ring!!! And I love the history that comes with it as well. Emeralds are so pretty and classy, no wonder why you love them. Enjoy wearing both the rings as they are both beautiful - luckily you have two hands and can wear them on both hehehe.
 

CHRISTY-DANIELLE

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 10, 2017
Messages
2,547
C'est magnifique ! I love these types of clusters and yours is to die for! Beautiful color and glow on that emerald!
 

motownmama

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 9, 2008
Messages
8,207
WHAT a ring! I LOVE everything about it!
 

pearaffair

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 15, 2015
Messages
3,445
Wow... you are making me want an emerald!!! Gorgeous rings!
 

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381
Wow!!! That is one lovely chunky cluster! The color of the emerald is perfect and those halo stones...speechless. So unique and special.

:) I can't thank you enough for saying so! The halo stones are partially what caught my eye. I noticed the quality of the emerald second. I am ashamed.
 

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381
Oh that is such a beautiful ring!!! And I love the history that comes with it as well. Emeralds are so pretty and classy, no wonder why you love them. Enjoy wearing both the rings as they are both beautiful - luckily you have two hands and can wear them on both hehehe.

Isn't the history neat as anything?! I am so deeply curious about who wore my ring before I did! I'm thrilled to meet a fellow emerald lover. There's nothing quite like them in my opinion :) Rubies are a veeeery close second, though! :)
 

Emerald City

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
381
C'est magnifique ! I love these types of clusters and yours is to die for! Beautiful color and glow on that emerald!

Thank you so much! It is quite a stellar emerald, if I do say so myself. Please tell me the ring in your avatar has its own thread - I'd love to see more photos and hear about its history! :kiss2:
 
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