Victorian diamond and enamel memorial ring, English, 1879.
Located in London, GB
Victorian diamond and enamel memorial ring. Set to centre with a cushion shape old mine diamond in
Antique 1870s English Solitaire Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Enamel
Victorian diamond and enamel memorial ring, English, 1879.
Located in London, GB
Victorian diamond and enamel memorial ring. Set to centre with a cushion shape old mine diamond in
Diamond, 18k Gold, Enamel
Pearl and black enamel memorial ring, English, 1854
Located in London, GB
Pearl and black enamel memorial ring. Set to centre with an oblong crystal slice covering plaited
Pearl, 18k Gold, Enamel
Georgian crystal, garnet and enamel memorial ring, English, circa 1775.
Located in London, GB
Georgian crystal, garnet and enamel memorial ring. Set with a circular border of sixteen cushion
Crystal, Garnet, Yellow Gold, Enamel
Phillips Brothers & Son Diamond and Enamel Memorial Ring, English, circa 1872
Located in London, GB
Phillips Brothers & Son diamond and enamel memorial ring, circa 1872. Set with twenty cushion shape
Gold, Enamel
Antique 1831 English 18K Gold Memorial Ring with Pearls and Black Enamel
By William Eaton
Located in Rotterdam, NL
An exquisite relic of the past, this antique 18K gold memorial ring from 1831 with pearls and black
Pearl, Natural Pearl, 18k Gold, Enamel
A fine and rare Georgian hair and ruby memorial ring, English, circa 1760
Located in London, GB
Georgian hair and ruby memorial ring. Set with a border of thirty two cushion shape French cut
Ruby, Yellow Gold
English Memorial Ring circa 1810
Located in London, GB
Early nineteenth century,gold mounted memorial ring,the centre with plaited hair under glass on a
Natural Pearl, 18k Gold
Antique Ring 25ct natural Blue Sapphire solid 18K Gold Ø 4.75 US /9.6gr
Located in SE
Luxurious Antique Ring in Renaissance style, band and crown tested solid 18K Gold,not hallmarked, European, ca. XVIII - early XIX centuries. Huge cabochon of natural Light - Blue Sa...
Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Victorian 1860 Ancient Revival Ram Ring in Solid 22Kt Yellow Gold With Sapphire
Located in Miami, FL
Ancient revival ring with a ram. This is a very unusual and beautiful ring designed in the 19th century with a mix of ancient Etruscan and Egyptian revival patterns. The ring is of ...
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 22k Gold, Yellow Gold
Victorian Turquoise and Rose Cut Diamond 9 Carat Gold Cluster Locket Back Ring
Located in Chipping Campden, GB
This beauty has an incredibly decorative 9ct gold shank and a locket back on the underside of the cluster. Sat on top of the swirling detail is a cluster of five bright turquoise and...
Turquoise, Diamond, Gold
Joseph Harris Antique Natural Burmese Sapphire Diamond Cluster Ring
Located in London, GB
Antique natural Burmese sapphire and diamond cluster ring. Set vertically with an oval old cut natural unenhanced Burmese sapphire in an open back claw setting with an approximate we...
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Yellow Gold
Georgian Rose Diamond Cluster Ring 1790's
Located in Firenze, IT
The oval blue enamel plaque with applied old brilliant, single and rose-cut diamond floral and foliate decoration, closed back settings throughout, with engraved bright-cut decoratio...
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver, Enamel
Antique Ring Ruby Diamonds 18K Yellow Gold Platinum Ø 5 US/ 4.4gr
Located in SE
A Ring with crown in White Gold or Platinum on solid 18K Yellow Gold band holding lab -made Red - Pink Ruby accented with 6 rose cut Diamonds. Hallmarked / tested 18K. European made...
Ruby, Diamond, Platinum, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
1913 Ring 0.25ct Diamonds solid 18K Yellow Gold Platinum ØUS9.5/ 3gr
Located in SE
Old cluster ring hand - made in 1913. Classic combination of high graded Gold, Platinum and Diamonds. Platinum on Gold openwork crown with 3 diamond stones. Swedish hallmarks, 18k ,...
Diamond, Yellow Gold, Platinum
$15,860Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage Victorian Style Apx 3.25 Carat Rose Cut Diamond Ring
Located in BEVERLY HILLS, CA
Vintage Victorian style rose cut diamond ring. Center round rose cut diamond, approximately 3.25ct but faces up like a 4ct diamond. Approximately I/J color and VS clarity. Compliment...
Diamond, Silver
NWT $ 12350 Oscar de la Renta 2008 Collection Champagne Fully Beaded Dress US 8
By Oscar De La Renta
Located in Montgomery, TX
New Oscar De La Renta Champagne Tulle Dress Gown US size - 8 2008 Collection Double tulle - white on the top of champagne - finished with white pearl-looking round beads and two tone...
$5,039Sale Price|72% Off
Size: 42
Amazing VERSACE Strapless Beaded Goddess Evening Wedding Bridal Gown Dress 42
By Versace
Located in Switzerland, CH
INCREDIBLE VERSACE GRECIAN GODDESS WHITE SILK BEADED EVENING GOWN Gorgeous off-white evening gown inspired by the Grecian goddesses by VERSACE Strapless with sexy semi...
Fine Estate 1.71 TCW Diamond 14K Yellow Gold Three Stone Gypsy Ring
Located in New York, NY
Fine estate 1.71 TCW diamond and 14K yellow gold three stone gypsy ring 20th Century Unusual, attractive substantial 14K yellow gold gypsy setting perfectly complements the three bea...
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Edwardian turquoise and diamond coronet cluster ring, circa 1905.
Located in London, GB
Edwardian turquoise and diamond coronet cluster ring. Set to center with a round cabochon cut natural turquoise in an open back claw setting, with an approximate weight of 1.20 carat...
Diamond, Turquoise, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Antique Victorian 2.00 Carat Diamond Three-Stone Ring
Located in New York, NY
Finely crafted in 18k yellow gold with an Old Mine cut Diamond at the center and 2 Old European cut Diamonds weighing a total of approximately 2.00 carats. Circa late 1800s Size 5, r...
Diamond, 18k Gold
Antique Georgian Star Sapphire Diamond Guilloche Enamel 14K Gold Ring Circa 1830
Located in New York, NY
Stunning Georgian Period cabochon star sapphire, diamond, cobalt blue guilloche enamel 14K gold ring. Circa 1830 This beautiful antique ring dates from the George IV/Regency Period. ...
Diamond, Star Sapphire, Yellow Gold, Enamel, 14k Gold
Zuhair Murad Couture white silver gold beaded sequin mini wedding backless dress
By Zuhair Murad
Located in Milano, Lombardia
LOVE LALI VINTAGE An incredibly rare dress from Zuhair Murad Haute Couture Fall 2006 This really is a work of art, a tasseled flapper style mini dress. The dress is sheer mesh and i...
Rare Georgian French Paste Necklace
Located in New York, NY
Late 18th Century, Georgian French Paste Necklace. Heavy sterling mounts set with pastes, quartz and gilt metal etched applications. Likely French in origin, with bow drop center pen...
Quartz, Gilt Metal, Sterling Silver
Gold is the feel-good metal, the serotonin of jewelry. Wear vintage and antique gold necklaces, watches, gold bracelets or gold rings and you feel happy, you feel dressed, you feel, well, yourself.
Gold, especially yellow gold, with its rich patina and ancient pedigree going back thousands of years, is the steady standby, the well-mannered metal of choice. Any discussion of this lustrous metal comes down to a basic truth: Gold is elementary, my dear. Gold jewelry that couples the mystique of the metal with superb design and craftsmanship achieves the status of an enduring classic. Many luxury houses have given us some of our most treasured and lasting examples of gold jewelry over the years.
Since its founding, in 1837, Tiffany & Co. has built its reputation on its company jewelry as well as its coterie of boutique designers, which has included Jean Schlumberger, Donald Claflin, Angela Cummings and Elsa Peretti. There are numerous gold Tiffany classics worth citing. Some are accented with gemstones, but all stand out for their design and the workmanship displayed.
For the woman who prefers a minimalist look, the Tiffany & Co. twist bangle (thin, slightly ovoid) is stylishly simple. For Cummings devotees, signature pieces feature hard stone inlay, such as her pairs of gold ear clips inlaid with black jade (a play on the classic Chanel black and tan), or bangles whose design recalls ocean waves, with undulating lines of lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl. And just about any design by the great Jean Schlumberger is by definition a classic.
Even had he eschewed stones and diamonds, Southern-born David Webb would be hailed for the vast arsenal of heavy gold jewelry he designed. Gold, usually hammered or textured in some manner, defines great David Webb jewelry. The self-taught jeweler made very au courant pieces while drawing inspiration from ancient and out-of-the-way sources — East meets West in the commanding gold necklaces made by Webb in the early 1970s. The same could be said for his endlessly varied gold cuffs.
In Europe, many houses have given us gold jewelry that sets the highest standard for excellence, pieces that were highly sought after when they were made and continue to be so.
Numerous designs from Cartier are homages to gold. There are the classic Trinity rings, necklaces and bracelets — trifectas of yellow, white and rose gold. As a testament to the power of love, consider the endurance of the Cartier Love bracelet.
Aldo Cipullo, Cartier’s top in-house designer from the late 1960s into the early ’70s, made history in 1969 with the Love bracelet. Cipullo frequently said that the Love bracelet was born of a sleepless night contemplating a love affair gone wrong and his realization that “the only remnants he possessed of the romance were memories.” He distilled the urge to keep a loved one close into a slim 18-karat gold bangle.
BVLGARI and its coin jewelry, gemme nummarie, hit the jackpot when the line launched in the 1960s. The line has been perennially popular. BVLGARI coin jewelry features ancient Greek and Roman coins embedded in striking gold mounts, usually hung on thick link necklaces of varying lengths. In the 1970s, BVLGARI introduced the Tubogas line, most often made in yellow gold. The Tubogas watches are classics, and then there is the Serpenti, the house's outstanding snake-themed watches and bracelets.
A collection called Monete that incorporated the gold coins is one of several iconic BVLGARI lines that debuted in the 1970s and ’80s, catering to a new generation of empowered women. Just as designers like Halston and Yves Saint Laurent were popularizing fuss-free ready-to-wear fashion for women on the go, BVLGARI offered jewels to be lived in.
Since Van Cleef & Arpels opened its Place Vendôme doors in 1906, collection after collection of jewelry classics have enchanted the public. As predominantly expressed in a honeycomb of gold, there is the Ludo watch and accessories, circa the 1920s, and the golden Zip necklace, 1951, whose ingenious transformation of the traditional zipper was originally proposed by the Duchess of Windsor. Van Cleef's Alhambra, with its Moroccan motif, was introduced in 1968 and from the start its popularity pivoted on royalty and celebrity status. It remains one of VCA’s most popular and collected styles.
Mention must be made of Buccellati, whose name is synonymous with gold so finely spun that it suggests tapestry. The house’s many gold bracelets, typically embellished with a few or many diamonds, signified taste and distinction and are always in favor on the secondary market. Other important mid-20th-century houses known for their gold-themed jewelry include Hermès and Ilias Lalaounis.
Find a stunning collection of vintage and antique gold jewelry on 1stDibs.
Antique and vintage rings have long held a special place in the hearts of fine jewelry lovers all over the world.
No matter their origin or specific characteristics, rings are timeless, versatile accessories. They’ve carried deep meaning since at least the Middle Ages, when diamond rings symbolized strength and other kinds of rings were worn to signify romantic feelings or to denote an affiliation with a religious order. Rings have also forever been emblematic of eternity.
Over time, rings have frequently taken the form of serpents, which have long been associated with eternal life, health and renewal. Italian luxury jewelry house Bulgari has become famous for its widely loved Serpenti motif, for example, and its Serpenti ring, like the other accessories in the collection, began as an homage to jewelry of the Roman and Hellenistic eras. The serpent is now a popular motif in fine jewelry. Jewelry devotees have long pined for rings adorned with reptiles, thanks to antique Victorian rings — well, specifically, Queen Victoria’s illustrious engagement ring, which took the form of a gold snake set with rubies, diamonds and an emerald (her birthstone). Designs for Victorian-era engagement rings often featured repoussé work and chasing, in which patterns are hammered into the metal.
Engagement rings, which are reliably intimidating to shop for, are still widely recognized as symbols of love and commitment. On 1stDibs, a range of buying guides can be found for those in the market for antique engagement rings, vintage engagement rings or Art Deco engagement rings.
The most collectible antique engagement rings and vintage engagement rings are those from the Victorian, Edwardian and Art Deco eras. Named for the monarchies of the four King Georges, who in succession ruled England starting in 1714 (plus King William’s reign), antique Georgian rings, be they engagement rings or otherwise, are also coveted by collectors. Pearls, along with colored gemstones like garnets, rubies and sapphires, were widely used in Georgian jewelry. The late-1700s paste jewelry was a predecessor to what we now call fashion or costume jewelry.
The Art Nouveau movement (1880–1910) brought with it rings inspired by the natural world. Antique Art Nouveau rings might feature depictions of winged insects and fauna as well as women, who were simultaneously eroticized and romanticized, frequently with long flowing hair. Art Deco jewelry, on the other hand, which originated during the 1920s and ’30s, is by and large “white jewelry.” White metals, primarily platinum, were favored over yellow gold in the design of antique Art Deco rings and other accessories as well as geometric motifs, with women drawn to the era’s dazzling cocktail rings in particular.
Whether you’re hunting down a chunky classic for a Prohibition-themed cocktail party or seeking a clean contemporary design to complement your casual ensemble, find an exquisite collection of antique, new and vintage rings on 1stDibs.
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