H Stern Cocktail Ring
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H Stern Cocktail Ring For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is an H Stern Cocktail Ring?
H. Stern for sale on 1stDibs
Born into a Jewish family in Essen, Germany, Hans Stern (1922–2007) fled with his parents to Rio de Janeiro at the onset of World War II. There he landed a job working for the precious stone and mineral exporter Cristab. Thus began Stern’s rise to become “the king of the colored gems,” as the media would dub him, and founder of the family-owned H.Stern jewelry business that now has over 150 stores worldwide.
While working for Cristab, Stern regularly visited mines on horseback. At the remote mines of Minas Gerais, Brazil, he cultivated relationships with many of the miners, developing professional connections that would endure for decades. He also embraced a fascination with the colorful semiprecious stones harvested in the area. In 1945, he started his own company, H.Stern, with the goal of marketing Brazilian gemstones — then virtually unknown on the global stage — to an international audience.
Though the company began as a trader in gemstones, it soon expanded to jewelry, with Stern assembling and training a team of young jewelers. A frequent motif in the company’s designs was the star, as Stern is “star” in German. In 1949, H.Stern opened its first jewelry shop in Rio de Janeiro, but a storefront was not his customers’ only view into the brand’s jewelry-making process. In the 1950s, Stern became one of the first major jewelers to offer tours of his workshop, showing off the creative process and elevating the role of craftsmanship in jewelry design.
Stern’s approach and his vibrant jewels, which favored organic settings designed to show off colorful gems, earned international recognition and put Brazil’s topaz, amethyst and tourmaline on the map. Tourmaline was reportedly Stern’s favorite, and the company’s Rio de Janeiro vaults are also home to Paraíba tourmalines, which are mined in the mountains of Paraíba, Brazil. He recognized the burgeoning tourism industry in the country as an opportunity to promote the beauty of these stones, opening stores in the lobbies of Brazil’s leading hotels and investing in vehicles to bring visitors to the H.Stern headquarters. By the mid-1990s, the company was opening stores abroad and selling jewelry at international department stores.
In the 1980s, the brand debuted its first celebrity collaboration, with French actress Catherine Deneuve. Since then it has worked with partners such as designer Diane von Fürstenberg and architect Oscar Niemeyer. In 2016, Assouline published a book on the 70-year history of H.Stern, from its humble founding to its worldwide acclaim. Today, the company is run by Stern’s son, Roberto, who has introduced a broad range of new collections and styles.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of H. Stern necklaces, rings, earrings and other accessories.
Finding the Right cocktail-rings for You
A flashy symbol of wealth during the early 20th century, antique and vintage cocktail rings have gained broader appeal in the decades since for the hefty dose of glamour they bring to any ensemble.
Cocktail rings earned their name for their frequent appearances during glitzy cocktail parties at the height of the Prohibition era. Back then, these accessories were seen not only as statement pieces but as statements in and of themselves. They openly represented a sense of freedom and independence as well as a demonstration of opulence. After all, the 1920s heralded the Harlem Renaissance and Art Deco design, and a slew of social and cultural shifts meant that women in particular were breaking from pre–World War I conventions and embracing newfound freedoms to express themselves as individuals.
Women expressly wore cocktail rings on the fingers of their right hand versus the left, which was “reserved” for an engagement ring or wedding band, accessories definitely paid for by a suitor. And for cocktail rings, the bigger the colored gem at the center — which is usually mounted in a high setting — and the more elaborate the design, the stronger the likelihood of being noticed.
Cocktail rings remained a popular piece of jewelry for women until the 1930s, when the Great Depression and the onset of war marked a change in behaviors nationwide. While the 1960s and ’70s saw a return in visibility for the accessory, it wasn’t until the 1980s that cocktail rings once again assumed their position as a beacon of luxury and glitz.
During the 20th century, the range of dazzling cocktail rings seems to have been limitless, from glimmering gold rings set with carved jade diamonds designed by David Webb to Pomellato’s pink quartz confections to striking Gucci butterfly rings with accent diamonds set in a pavé fashion.
So, how do you wear a cocktail ring? Cocktail rings “can be worn for almost anything — dinners, date nights, parties, special events, on the red carpet,” explains David Joseph of New York-based jewelry brand Bochic.
Can you wear cocktail rings with other rings? “In my opinion, cocktail rings should stand on their own since they showcase a large gem in the center,” says Joseph.
These glamorous jewels can be worn inside or outside crowded taverns, in either daytime or nighttime with casual or dressy attire. On 1stDibs, find a wide variety of antique and vintage cocktail rings, including those offered by Chanel, whose elegant cocktail rings often feature pearls and, of course, diamonds, and sometimes were styled after showy flowers like the camellia, and Van Cleef & Arpels, whose detailed and intricate designs are viewed as miniature pieces of wearable art.