Modern Engagement Rings
Rooted in centuries of history of adornment dating back to the ancient world, modern jewelry reimagines traditional techniques, forms and materials for expressive new pieces. As opposed to contemporary jewelry, which responds to the moment in which it was created, modern jewelry often describes designs from the 20th to 21st centuries that reflect movements and trends in visual culture.
Modern jewelry emerged from the 19th-century shift away from jewelry indicating rank or social status. The Industrial Revolution allowed machine-made jewelry using electric gold plating, metal alloys and imitation stones, making beautiful jewelry widely accessible. Although mass production deemphasized the materials of the jewelry, the vision of the designer remained important, something that would be furthered in the 1960s with what’s known as the “critique of preciousness.”
A design fair called the “Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes” brought global attention to the Art Deco style in 1925 and gathered a mix of jewelry artists alongside master jewelers like Van Cleef & Arpels, Mauboussin and Boucheron. Art Deco designs from Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels unconventionally mixed gemstones like placing rock crystals next to diamonds while borrowing motifs from eclectic sources including Asian lacquer and Persian carpets. Among Cartier’s foremost design preoccupations at the time were high-contrast color combinations and crisp, geometric forms and patterns. In the early 20th century, modernist jewelers like Margaret De Patta and artists such as Alexander Calder — who is better known for his kinetic sculptures than his provocative jewelry — explored sculptural metalwork in which geometric shapes and lines were preferred over elaborate ornamentation.
Many of the innovations in modern jewelry were propelled by women designers such as Wendy Ramshaw, who used paper to craft her accessories in the 1960s. During the 1970s, Elsa Peretti created day-to-night pieces for Tiffany & Co. while designers like Lea Stein experimented with layering plastic, a material that had been employed in jewelry since the mid-19th century and had expanded into Bakelite, acrylics and other unique materials.
Find a collection of modern watches, bracelets, engagement rings, necklaces, earrings and other jewelry on 1stDibs.
1960s British Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Platinum
1950s British Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Gold
20th Century English Modern Engagement Rings
18k Gold
20th Century European Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
1970s French Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold
1990s Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
20th Century Japanese Modern Engagement Rings
Aquamarine, Diamond, Platinum
1950s Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Platinum
1980s American Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
Late 20th Century Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century American Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Platinum
20th Century Italian Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Engagement Rings
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 9k Gold, Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Scandinavian Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, 14k Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Engagement Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s British Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Platinum
1970s French Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Emerald, White Gold
20th Century Japanese Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum
1990s South African Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Platinum
1970s Austrian Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Engagement Rings
Amber, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century North American Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century Japanese Modern Engagement Rings
Emerald, Platinum
20th Century Unknown Modern Engagement Rings
White Diamond, Diamond, White Gold, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, White Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, 14k Gold
1950s Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
20th Century Japanese Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Platinum
20th Century Japanese Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, 14k Gold, White Gold
1950s European Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 20th Century Modern Engagement Rings
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, 14k Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Platinum
1950s American Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Gold, 14k Gold
1950s Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Tourmaline, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s English Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Tanzanite, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century British Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, 9k Gold, White Gold
20th Century Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold
1980s British Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Platinum
1960s British Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Aquamarine, Diamond, Gold
Early 20th Century Turkish Modern Engagement Rings
Quartz, 14k Gold
1980s British Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Platinum
20th Century Unknown Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Yellow Gold, 9k Gold, White Gold, Gold
1960s German Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, 14k Gold
1960s North American Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Platinum
1960s British Vintage Modern Engagement Rings
Aquamarine, Diamond, 18k Gold, Gold
Late 20th Century Swiss Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum