Are solitaire engagement rings in style?

Although jewelry trends change from season to season, solitaire engagement rings typically remain in style based on their widespread popularity. The solitaire ring has a timeless look, and the wide variety of gemstone cuts available means that there are many options to choose from. You can consider solitaire engagement rings featuring diamonds as well as colored gemstones like sapphires, rubies, amethysts and topazes. On 1stDibs, shop a large selection of solitaire engagement rings.

Did Victorians give engagement rings?

Yes, many Victorians gave engagement rings to their fiancées. In fact, the tradition of giving engagement rings became more popular during the Victorian era due to the effects of the Industrial Revolution. The economic growth of the time led to the creation of a middle class that had the ability to save up for special purchases. At the same time, gemstones mined in South Africa began arriving in England, increasing the supply of precious stones and making prices more affordable. Explore an assortment of antique Victorian engagement rings on 1stDibs.

Why do people wear solitaire engagement rings?

People often wear solitaire engagement rings because of their versatility. Solitaire rings feature a single stone and a minimalist band in which pressure, bezel or prongs hold the stone in place. They're simple enough to coordinate with many different styles of wedding bands. In addition, solitaire engagement rings have become a classic look, making them appealing to individuals who prefer timeless jewelry. Explore a variety of engagement rings on 1stDibs.

How much is a Cartier solitaire engagement ring?

A Cartier solitaire engagement ring price varies depending on material, stone, setting and caratage. Shop a variety of Cartier solitaire engagement rings on 1stDibs.com.

Victorian Solitaire Engagement Ring

Antique Diamond Rings 1900s

Victorian Old European Cut Diamond Ring

Buttercup Ring

Buttercup Setting

Ruby And Yellow Topaz Ring

Gem Kingdom

Category

2010s Victorian Engagement Rings

Materials

Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold

Antique Victorian 10K Rose Gold Amethyst Solitaire Ring

$2,500

Antique Victorian 10K Rose Gold Amethyst Solitaire Ring

Located in New York, NY

An authentic antique Victorian solitaire ring crafted in warm 10k rose gold. Featuring a vibrant rectangular emerald-cut natural purple amethyst held securely in an elevated corner-p...

Category

Antique Late 19th Century Engagement Rings

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Amethyst, 10k Gold, Rose Gold

Old European Cut Diamond Solitaire Engagement Ring in 14k Yellow Gold

$5,136Sale Price|20% Off

$197,431

Certified 7.01 Carat Old Cut Diamond Solitaire Ring in Yellow Gold

Located in London, England

A truly remarkable certified old cut diamond single solitaire ring set in 18k yellow gold. The ring is solely set with an outstanding 7.01 carat round old cut diamond. The diamon...

Category

Antique Early 1900s British Victorian Engagement Rings

Materials

Materials

Diamond, Yellow Gold

Neo Victorian Solitaire White Gold Diamond Engagement Ring

Unavailable

Neo Victorian Solitaire White Gold Diamond Engagement Ring

By Gabriel & Co.

Located in Stamford, CT

Neo Victorian Style Solitaire Engagement Ring in 14k White Gold.

Category

2010s Engagement Rings

Materials

Diamond, 14k Gold, White Gold

Unique Victorian Diamond Gold Solitaire Engagement Ring with Floral Engraving

Unavailable

Unique Victorian Diamond Gold Solitaire Engagement Ring with Floral Engraving

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This solitaire engagement ring showcases the center stone cradled in a dramatic six-prong buttercup setting and finished with high polished shoulders.

Category

Antique Early 1900s Unknown Victorian Engagement Rings

Materials

Diamond, Yellow Gold

18 Karat White Gold Ruby Diamond Engagement Legacy Cabochon Solitaire Ring

Unavailable

Unavailable

$10,000

Vintage Style 18 Karat Rose Gold 1.65 Carat Old European Cut Diamond Ring

Located in New York, NY

Collet set Old European Cut diamond weighing 1.65 carats set in a blackened gold bezel and 18k rose gold shank. A mix of contemporary and antique, this is a charming ring. The diamon...

Category

Early 2000s Unknown Late Victorian Bridal Rings

Materials

Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold

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Art Deco Diamond Baby Ring Old Cut 14K Yellow Gold Antique Original 1930's Features a Genuine Natural .03ct Old Cut Diamond 100% Natural Mined Diamond 14K Yellow Gold Circa 193...

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Vintage 1930s Art Deco Engagement Rings

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Antique Bohemian Garnet And Silver Gilt Necklace Circa 1870's

$3,416

Antique Bohemian Garnet And Silver Gilt Necklace Circa 1870's

Located in Firenze, IT

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Antique Mid-19th Century British Victorian Drop Necklaces

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Garnet, Silver, Gilt Metal

Angela Cummings 18K Yellow Gold Sinuous Snake Ring

$2,550

Angela Cummings 18K Yellow Gold Sinuous Snake Ring

By Angela Cummings

Located in New York, NY

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Antique 15ct Yellow Gold, Victorian Seed Pearl Heart Pendant

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Antique Victorian Emerald Cut Emerald & Seed Pearl Ring in 14ct Yellow Gold

Located in valatie, NY

Antique Victorian Emerald Cut Emerald & Seed Pearl Ring in 14ct Yellow Gold. A very beautiful example of a Period Victorian ring from the late 19th c. This charming Victorian cluster...

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Victorian Solitaire Engagement Ring For Sale on 1stDibs

Surely you’ll find the exact victorian solitaire engagement ring you’re seeking on 1stDibs — we’ve got a vast assortment for sale. Frequently made of Gold, 18k Gold and Yellow Gold, this item was constructed with great care. You can easily find a 148 antique edition and 11 modern creations to choose from as well. Finding the perfect victorian solitaire engagement ring may mean sifting through those created during different time periods — you can find an early version that dates to the 19th Century and a newer variation that were made as recently as the 21st Century. For this particular piece, .5 Carat and 1 Carat are consistently popular carat weights. Creating a victorian solitaire engagement ring has been a part of the legacy of many jewelers, but those produced by Intini Jewels, Antinori Fine Jewels and Tacori are consistently popular. See these pages for an old european cut iteration of this accessory, while there are also old mine cut cut and rose cut cut versions available here, too. Most of our victorian solitaire engagement ring for sale are for women, but there are 42 pieces available to browse for men.

How Much is a Victorian Solitaire Engagement Ring?

The price for a victorian solitaire engagement ring starts at $333 and tops out at $193,438 with these rings, on average, selling for $3,750.

A Close Look at Victorian Jewelry

The reign of Queen Victoria encapsulates a quickly evolving period of history — and jewelry styles were no exception. No single period has seen such a diverse group of jewelry attributed to it than the Victorian era. Today, there is a vast collection of authentic antique Victorian jewelry and watches on 1stDibs.

Victorian jewelry is named after Queen Victoria, whose reign lasted from 1837 to 1901, making her the second longest-ruling monarch. (She was surpassed by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015.) During this time, different styles of fashion and jewelry came and went. Thanks to our fascination with royalty and swoon-worthy melodramas like Netflix’s The Crown — which is rife with evocative fashion, jewelry and interiors — and the 2017 feature film Victoria & Abdul, we are all familiar with her story. After the death of Victoria’s father and three childless uncles, she ascended to the throne at age 18. In 1840, Queen Victoria married the love of her life, her first cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Queen Victoria loved serpentine jewels, and she had even more power to shape trends than Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle do today. The British monarch’s best-known piece in this mold is the gold coiled-snake engagement ring she received from Prince Albert — the sinuous reptile was considered a symbol of everlasting love.

The Queen's 63-year reign has been divided by historians into the Romantic period, the early happy years, circa 1837–60; the Grand period, marked by the deaths of the Queen’s mother and husband, circa 1860–80; and the late Victorian or Aesthetic period, which lasted from about 1880 until 1901 and ushered in the Belle Époque. Queen Victoria wore her heart on her sleeve, and her fashion and jewelry reflected her emotions.

Romantic period jewelry, which featured common decorative motifs and was embellished with seed pearls, coral and turquoise, was a celebration of the young monarch’s love. Everything changed with the death of Prince Albert, and the Grand period is most often associated with mourning jewelry. Jewelry was smaller, lighter and more dainty during the late Victorian period. During this era, diamonds came into fashion, and semiprecious gems such as amethysts and opals became prevalent, too. Using gemstones for their natural beauty and not their worth was something that jewelers of the era felt passionate about, and this ideology would really become relevant in Art Nouveau jewelry.

Find a collection of authentic antique Victorian jewelry — from rings, necklaces and brooches to a range of other accessories — on 1stDibs.

Why Gold Shines in Jewelry Craftsmanship

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.

The Legacy of Diamond in Jewelry Design

Antique diamond rings, diamond tiaras and dazzling vintage diamond earrings are on the wish lists of every lover of fine jewelry. And diamonds and diamond jewelry are primarily associated with storybook engagements and red-carpet grand entrances — indeed, this ultra-cherished gemstone has a dramatic history on its hands.

From “A Diamond Is Forever” to “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” pop culture has ingrained in our minds that diamonds are the most desired, the most lasting and the most valuable gemstone. But what makes the diamond so special? Each stone — whether it’s rubies, sapphires or another stone — is unique and important in its own right. April babies might claim diamonds for themselves, but just about everyone wants this kind of sparkle in their lives!

There are several factors that set diamonds apart from other stones, and these points are important to our gem education.

Diamonds are minerals. They are made up of almost entirely of carbon (carbon comprises 99.95 percent; the remainder consists of various trace elements). Diamonds are the hardest gemstones, ranking number 10 on the Mohs Hardness Scale. Even its name, diamond, is rooted in the Greek adamas, or unconquerable. The only object that can scratch a diamond is another diamond. Diamonds are formed deep within the earth at very high temperatures (1,652–2,372 degrees Fahrenheit at depths between 90 and 120 miles beneath the earth’s surface) and are carried up by volcanic activity. Diamonds are quite rare, according to the Gemological Institute of America, and only 30 percent of all the diamonds mined in the world are gem quality.

In the 1950s, the Gemological Institute of America developed the 4Cs grading system to classify diamonds: clarity, color, cut and carat weight. Not all diamonds are created equal (there are diamonds, and then there are diamonds). The value of the diamond depends on the clarity (flawless diamonds are very rare but a diamond's value decreases if there are many blemishes or inclusions), color (the less color the higher the grade), cut (how the diamond’s facets catch the light, certain cuts of diamonds show off the stone better than others) and carat weight (the bigger, the better).

When you start shopping for a diamond engagement ring, always prioritize the cut, which plays the largest role in the diamond's beauty (taking the time to clean your diamond ring at least every six months or so plays a role in maintaining said beauty). And 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.

Shop antique and vintage diamond rings, diamond necklaces and other extraordinary diamond jewelry on 1stDibs.

Finding the Right Rings for You

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.

Questions About Victorian Solitaire Engagement Ring

Are solitaire engagement rings in style?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertNovember 21, 2023
Although jewelry trends change from season to season, solitaire engagement rings typically remain in style based on their widespread popularity. The solitaire ring has a timeless look, and the wide variety of gemstone cuts available means that there are many options to choose from. You can consider solitaire engagement rings featuring diamonds as well as colored gemstones like sapphires, rubies, amethysts and topazes. On 1stDibs, shop a large selection of solitaire engagement rings.
Did Victorians give engagement rings?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertNovember 1, 2023
Yes, many Victorians gave engagement rings to their fiancées. In fact, the tradition of giving engagement rings became more popular during the Victorian era due to the effects of the Industrial Revolution. The economic growth of the time led to the creation of a middle class that had the ability to save up for special purchases. At the same time, gemstones mined in South Africa began arriving in England, increasing the supply of precious stones and making prices more affordable. Explore an assortment of antique Victorian engagement rings on 1stDibs.
Why do people wear solitaire engagement rings?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertNovember 1, 2023
People often wear solitaire engagement rings because of their versatility. Solitaire rings feature a single stone and a minimalist band in which pressure, bezel or prongs hold the stone in place. They're simple enough to coordinate with many different styles of wedding bands. In addition, solitaire engagement rings have become a classic look, making them appealing to individuals who prefer timeless jewelry. Explore a variety of engagement rings on 1stDibs.
How much is a Cartier solitaire engagement ring?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertFebruary 22, 2021
A Cartier solitaire engagement ring price varies depending on material, stone, setting and caratage. Shop a variety of Cartier solitaire engagement rings on 1stDibs.com.