A french wedding castle is a perfect venue to show off an antique engagement ring.  Feel like a princess from a bygone era at your fairytale french wedding. A destination french wedding castle is a wonderful venue for today’s discerning bride with refined taste and cultivation.
 
Antique or vintage engagement rings are those classic style rings that bring back the charm and history of bygone era. Many couples enjoy the nostalgic feel of something their grandparents may have worn. Others simply like the idea of old-fashioned quality styling and workmanship.

The Internet and online auctions in general have brought the world of antique wedding rings into our home. You can shop a countryside village or Antwerps mega diamond dealers all from your home computer. If you like to shop closer to home where you can feel and touch the rings and try them on for size and style, then there are other great sources for vintage engagement rings. Flea markets or estate sales are great sources for authentic vintage jewellery including diamond or sapphire jewelry in gold or silver.

An antique engagement ring is a showpiece of superb old-world craftsmanship, in contrast to the plain bands and prong settings of most modern rings. Because it is too costly to reproduce such intricate detail nowadays, antique rings will continue to appreciate in value over time.

Rings from the turn of the century through the 1920s were often made in white gold or platinum, with fine filigree (lace-like) detail on the mounting. Both white and yellow gold engagement rings were popular in the 1930s and 1940s, as were white and yellow gold combinations. You may find smaller side diamonds or intricate carvings on the ring shank and flowers, leaves hearts and geometric shapes on a typical ring from this period. The center diamond is often set in a white gold square-shaped box, enhancing the color and size of the stone; therefore, a diamond in a 1940s mounting will always look much larger than one in a solitaire prong setting. 

Carat weight, clarity, color and cut apply when buying an antique engagement ring?

The size, or CARAT weight, of the diamond is still the main determinant of price; the larger the stone, the more expensive the ring. However, especially during the 1930s and 1940s, diamonds were set in white gold square-shaped boxes, which were in turn often elaborately carved and beaded to give the diamond a larger appearance (“illusion” settings). Such rings give the modern-day budget-minded consumer the “look” of a larger diamond for the price of a smaller one.

The CUT of an older diamond in particular should not be rated by modern standards. Both techniques and taste have changed over the last century. Today’s diamonds are mainly cut by laser, to the *exact* standards which have been developed over the years to produce maximum “fire” or light reflection. Older stones were cut by hand; consequently, there is more variation in the proportions of individual facets. Whereas modern diamonds show assembly-line precision, older stones preserve the hand of the artist, and are often said to have a much “softer,” romantic look.

The COLOR of the diamond is more a matter of taste than the previous two C’s. Soft pink, yellow or greenish tingers were often seen in rings of this era as people wanted a diamond toreflect a rainbow of colours. Bright white diamonds are considered more valuable today because they are favored by modern tastes.

The CLARITY of the diamond, determined by the number, character, and visibility of natural inclusions in the stone, also has a significant effect on price. Some mid-century jewelry manufacturers, like Keepsake, built their reputations on using only high quality (VS) diamonds in their engagement rings. Most jewelers of yesteryear would not set a beautiful, intricately-detailed mounting with a poor quality stone.

A fifth C is CHARACTER. Look at the workmanship and detail of the ring. Imagine you wanted to have the same type of ring created for you today. Labor costs these days to design and make a ring would be extortionate! When you buy an antique ring, you essentially get the labor of the craftsman for free! This is best illustrated by determining how much you’d like to spend (say $500), and looking at both antique and modern rings to compare what your money will buy you. 

Finding a vintage engagement ring is one thing, but making sure it is truly and antique is another. A reputable jewellery appraiser can help. Each silversmith or artisan has a symbol that they will engrave in their work to mark it as one of their own. The appraiser can then give you a guarantee or certificate of authenticity to go with your vintage diamond engagement ring.

The setting and the diamonds will need to be examined separately. You may find a vintage setting with newer diamonds. This wont necessarily impact the value to you, but it would perhaps indicate that there were either several owners or that the person selling the rings as an antique may have changed stones.

The number one consideration in choosing antique jewellery is to make sure you really love it. There are usually no exchanges for vintage diamond engagement rings.

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