Victor Mayer Signet

Renowned for intricate and sophisticated jewelry, the Victor Mayer company has created personal adornments of the highest quality for over a century. Using complex guilloche and enamel techniques, the German manufacturer is known for its hoop earrings, pendants and cufflinks, while its authentic Victor Mayer Fabergé egg pendants, featuring delicate embellishments and exquisite enameling, have been especially popular with generations of connoisseurs.

Aftering studying at the Grand Ducal School of Arts and Crafts in Weimar, Germany, and training for three years in Vienna, Victor Mayer opened his jewelry business in 1890, in Pforzheim, Germany. His craftsmanship rapidly gained renown across Europe.

Ever mindful of evolving tastes, the company underwent three major style changes in Mayer’s lifetime, beginning with a focus on the Belle Époque of the late 19th century. It later adapted when Mayer saw that Art Nouveau was taking off around the world. The company remained operational during the first World War, and then once again adjusted its style to match the rising influence of Art Deco. 

World War II shut down the Victor Mayer company, as jewelry was considered a non-essential wartime industry. After the war ended, the company slowly reopened and experienced a slight uptick in business. 

Mayer died in 1946. His son, Oscar, and businessman Edmund Mohr managed the company together until the 1960s. Under Mohr and Mayer, it became a leader in producing fine accessories for gentlemen, while continuing to create jewelry for women.

In the 1960s, Mayer’s son, Hubert, and Mohr’s son, Herbert, succeeded their fathers. The duo steered the company in a new — but classic — creative direction. While in art school, Mohr had absorbed all he could regarding the artistic patronage of the Tsars. In the 1980s, he designed the company’s Esprit de Fabergé collection, which was modeled after the exuberant style of the master Fabergé crafters.

In 1989, the long-dormant House of Fabergé appointed the Victor Mayer company to be its workmaster until 2009. During this time, the company not only grew its customer base throughout Europe, Southeast Asia and North America, it revived the Fabergé jewelry line.

In 2005, Mohr retired, and his son, Marcus, took over the company’s management. Under his leadership, the Victor Mayer jewelry company continues to thrive and produce incomparable works of timeless elegance.

Find antique and vintage Victor Mayer necklaces, rings, bracelets and other 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.