Help me date my heirloom ring!

[KatyWI]

Hi all! I plan on taking this ring to an appraiser as soon as possible, but in the meantime I figured I''d ask the experts here if this ring looks familiar or distinctly from a certain era? My grandmother was born, and raised in Brooklyn and lived in the NYC suburbs her whole adult life. There is no jeweler''s stamp in the ring, so I''m sort of stuck! It doesn''t really matter how old it is... it reminds me of her because she always used to wear it, so it was either her engagement/wedding ring, or it was something given to her later by my grandfather that she wore on that hand instead of her wedding set.

Anyway, on to a couple of pictures! I''ll be posting a few more in SMTR, I just thought I''d throw it out here in case anyone had an idea.

 

[KatyWI]

And a side view:

 

[Circe]

My gut says 1930''s because of the cluster effect coupled with the fishtail-ish effect of the setting overall, set with somewhat older stones - it''s definitely a beauty! I''ll look forward to the SMTR thread ....

 

[glitterata]

What an interesting ring!! So charming.

How big are the diamonds? How big is the square part of the setting?

My guess--and I could be very far off the mark--is that someone in the 1950s reset the diamonds from a much earlier ring or other piece of jewelry, maybe a cluster ring or an earring from the 1890s.

 

[KatyWI]

I love this ring... it reminds me of my grandmother more than any single object... she wore it all the time, and I always admired it! It''s not what I would normally say is my personal style, but the emotional attachment is so strong that I don''t want to take it off! I''ve only had it a few days

glitterata - I haven''t had it appraised yet, and there was no paperwork, so I don''t know until then exactly how big the stones are!

I measured it myself (not entirely accurately of course) and the setting is 13mm square. The small stones are about 3mm, and the center is 6mm. The center appears to face up slightly smaller than my .80 RB engagement ring, so it may be about the same size, being that it''s an OEC.

Interesting that you think it may have been older and reset in the 50''s... it''s totally and completely plausible (as is Circe''s observation that it may be as old as the 30''s) but could you tell me why you think so? I''d love to know!!

 

[VRBeauty]

That setting looks really art deco to me. That's the extent of my knowledge of vintage jewelry, but... I do know a little bit about vintage silverware, and the style elements in that setting are very similar to elements that started showing up in some silver plate flatware patterns first introduced from about 1929 to 1935. (I'm looking at the stepped corners and the geometric cut-outs.)

 

[glitterata]

Well, the setting looks like fishtail and illusion settings that I associate with the 50s--but I might be wrong, maybe they were also popular earlier? Definitely not earlier than the 30s, though.

The diamonds themselves are OECs, so late 19th c to early 20th. That arrangement, with the smaller ones circling the larger one, looks like a late Victorian or Edwardian earring or cluster ring that got sort of picked up and placed into a big square illusion setting. (Only minus the illusion part of the illusion setting.)

I could easily be wrong about the time--maybe 40s or 30s instead of 50s. But I bet I''m right that it started life as another piece of jewelry with a more circular or flower form, instead of the square.

Don''t you wish you could ask your grandmother? I wish I could ask both my grandmothers about their rings. I never did, and they''re gone now. (My grandmothers, I mean.)

 

[jewelerman]

Date: 6/17/2009 5:59:07 PM
Author:KatyWI
Hi all! I plan on taking this ring to an appraiser as soon as possible, but in the meantime I figured I''d ask the experts here if this ring looks familiar or distinctly from a certain era? My grandmother was born, and raised in Brooklyn and lived in the NYC suburbs her whole adult life. There is no jeweler''s stamp in the ring, so I''m sort of stuck! It doesn''t really matter how old it is... it reminds me of her because she always used to wear it, so it was either her engagement/wedding ring, or it was something given to her later by my grandfather that she wore on that hand instead of her wedding set.

Anyway, on to a couple of pictures! I''ll be posting a few more in SMTR, I just thought I''d throw it out here in case anyone had an idea.

hey Katy,
You have a lovely cluster ring from your grandmother!Its a married piece.The diamonds were,as Glitterata
suspected,probably from an old cluster ring,earring or pendant from before the turn ot the century.In my opinion,the ring is early 1950s with its sleek no fuss or frills lines,and rounded dome shape band.The prongs are singular and Ibelieve the prong work would have been more intregate before the 50s.The fiftys did produce some cluster jewelry in round and longated marquise cluster shapes,so a setting would have been avaliable to order, as this dosnt look like a custom hand made ring to me.The triangular cut out is more to get at the diamond to keep it clean rather then a strong artistic detail.The resetting theory works for me and the 50s would be the era for the diamonds to need a new home.Enjoy your new treasure!

 

[glitterata]

Also, if it had been designed from scratch rather than made out of another piece of jewelry, I would expect there to be 8 smaller diamonds instead of 7--that way there could be 2 on each side of the square, which would make for a more natural-looking square, if you know what I mean. See how the three diamonds at the bottom are distributed very differently from the four on top? The top four straddle the corners, with two side by side along the top edge. The ones at the bottom sit off center at the corners, with only one at the bottom edge. Like someone was trying to make a circle, not a square, despite the square outline.

 

[glitterata]

There you go--Jewelerman was posting while I was writing my last post. Hi, JM--I''m glad you think I guessed right.

That is a really great ring & I hope you''ll post hand shots, Katy!

 

[jewelerman]

Date: 6/18/2009 1:26:48 AM
Author: jewelerman

Date: 6/17/2009 5:59:07 PM
Author:KatyWI
Hi all! I plan on taking this ring to an appraiser as soon as possible, but in the meantime I figured I''d ask the experts here if this ring looks familiar or distinctly from a certain era? My grandmother was born, and raised in Brooklyn and lived in the NYC suburbs her whole adult life. There is no jeweler''s stamp in the ring, so I''m sort of stuck! It doesn''t really matter how old it is... it reminds me of her because she always used to wear it, so it was either her engagement/wedding ring, or it was something given to her later by my grandfather that she wore on that hand instead of her wedding set.

Anyway, on to a couple of pictures! I''ll be posting a few more in SMTR, I just thought I''d throw it out here in case anyone had an idea.

hey Katy,
You have a lovely cluster ring from your grandmother!Its a married piece.The diamonds were,as Glitterata
suspected,probably from an old cluster ring,earring or pendant from before the turn ot the century.In my opinion,the ring is early 1950s with its sleek no fuss or frills lines,and rounded dome shape band.The prongs are singular and Ibelieve the prong work would have been more intregate before the 50s.The fiftys did produce some cluster jewelry in round and longated marquise cluster shapes,so a setting would have been avaliable to order, as this dosnt look like a custom hand made ring to me.The triangular cut out is more to get at the diamond to keep it clean rather then a strong artistic detail.The resetting theory works for me and the 50s would be the era for the diamonds to need a new home.Enjoy your new treasure!

one think more,the square shape was extemely popular in the 50s.Earlier the setting would have had some type of intergrate detail to give it a more feminine feel.Also the cluster would have been pulled apart and the main diamond used rather then a squared cluster look(to masculine)created.

 

[VRBeauty]

I bow to the experts!

 

[KatyWI]

I''ll get some handshots today if there''s a break in the clouds!!

I actually had assumed it WAS handmade, because if you look closely, you can see the diamonds were set unevenly, and there is pitting along the obvious seams where the top of the setting was added to the rest of the basket, and at the corners. That could have everything to do with age, though.

I also wondered if it were a reset. Either that or I figured the seven diamonds were significant in some other way, like they had come from another piece, or perhaps seven family members were being represented, because I noticed the uneven nature of seven diamonds where really it SHOULD be eight! I know it would not have been a financial issue for my grandparents, so I''m inclined to believe it was a reset.

Thank you SO MUCH Circe, glitterata, VRBeauty, and jewelerman for your help! I *do* wish my grandmother were still around to ask, but it''s so lovely to have this beauiful reminder of her.

 

[glitterata]

I think what Jewelerman meant was that it was put together out of stock pieces, rather than being designed from scratch.

Wear it in good health! It is a beautiful memento.