Platinum Multi Cut Diamond & Emerald Cocktail Ring
Located in New York, NY
Platinum Multi Cut Diamond & Emerald Cocktail Ring Description: This striking mid-century style cocktail ring is crafted in solid platinum and features an elongated, asymmetrica...
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
Estate 14K Two-Tone Gold Ruby & Diamond Double Horse Head Ring
Located in New York, NY
A bold and sculptural equestrian statement piece crafted in solid 14k yellow and white gold. This bypass-style ring features intricately detailed dual horse heads facing one another,...
Diamond, Ruby, 14k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Cartier Dinh Van 1970's 18 Karat Yellow Gold Vintage Ankh Wrap Ring
By Cartier
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Designed as double wrapped coiled bypass style ring Terminating as an abstracted spiraling ankh motif With high polish finish Stamped for 18 karat gold Numbered fully signed Dinh Van...
Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-Century 3.52 CTW Diamond Natural Pearl Platinum Toi-Et-Moi Vintage Ring GIA
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Bypass style ring terminates with a pearl and an old mine cut diamond - both with pierced baskets Pearl is button shaped and Natural Saltwater Pinctada White in body color with stron...
Diamond, Platinum
Captivating Pear-Cut Ruby and Diamond Ring in 18k Gold
Located in Wailea, HI
**Product Specifications:** * **Center Gemstone:** 1 Pear-Cut Ruby (1.28 Carats) * **Gemstone Quality:** Vibrant Color and Fine Clarity * **Accent Diamonds:** 14 Round Brilliant...
White Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold
1.15 Carats Round Brilliant Cut Diamond & Emerald Dolphin Fashion Ring
Located in New York, NY
A beautiful fashion ring, showcasing a bypass design with a dolphin motif.
Diamond, Emerald, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Diamond Engagement Ring & Wedding Band, 14k White Gold Halo .32ctw
Located in Greensboro, NC
Fashioned in timeless 10k white gold, this NEW set is comprised of an engagement ring and matching wedding band. The engagement ring features a bypass-style band adorned in the enter...
Diamond, White Gold
Toi et Moi 2-Stone Amethyst (0.90ct) Engagement Ring in 14K White Gold
Located in MELBOURNE, AU
This exquisite piece of jewelry is featuring 2 Natural Amethysts (February birthstone), of superb vivid Royal Purple colour, excellent clarity & of impressive size (each 0.45ct app...
Amethyst, White Gold, 14k Gold
Van Cleef & Arpels Contemporary Ruby and Diamond “Trefle” Ring, 18KY Gold Size 6
By Van Cleef & Arpels
Located in New York, NY
The bypass form ring is designed as two pave-set diamond blossoms, each centering a cabochon ruby.
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage JAI By John Hardy Sterling Silver Tri Checkerboard-Cut Gemstone Ring
By John Hardy
Located in Addison, TX
Details Brand: JAI by John Hardy Metal: Sterling Silver (.925) Weight: 8.4g Ring Size: 7 Design: Triple-stone bypass cluster ring Stones: White topaz or white quartz Black onyx or bl...
Quartz, Black Spinel, 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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