Emerald Rings
1980s European Retro Vintage Emerald Rings
Emerald, Sapphire, 18k Gold
1960s Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
1930s Art Deco Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Gold
20th Century Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
1920s Art Deco Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
1950s Australian Retro Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, White Gold, Platinum, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Art Deco Emerald Rings
Emerald, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Ruby, White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow G...
Early 1900s Asian Victorian Antique Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, Silver
Mid-20th Century Italian Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Emerald Rings
Emerald, 18k Gold
20th Century Emerald Rings
Emerald, Diamond, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Platinum, Gold
20th Century Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire, Gold
1920s Unknown Art Deco Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
20th Century Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, White Gold
1980s Unknown Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
Late 20th Century Unknown Contemporary Emerald Rings
Emerald, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century French Emerald Rings
Emerald, White Gold
20th Century French Emerald Rings
Emerald, Diamond, White Gold
1930s Vintage Emerald Rings
Emerald, Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
1990s Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
1950s Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Sapphire, Platinum
1950s Unknown Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
1930s Unknown Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1960s Unknown Retro Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Gold
1950s American Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, White Gold
1980s Unknown Retro Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 14k Gold
1970s Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
1940s French Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1920s American Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
1920s American Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
1950s French Vintage Emerald Rings
Emerald, Diamond, Gold, White Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Emerald Rings
White Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, South Sea Pearl, Ruby, 14k Gold, White Gold
20th Century American Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
1980s Retro Vintage Emerald Rings
Blue Sapphire, Pearl, Emerald, Diamond, White Gold, Rose Gold, 14k Gold
1980s Unknown Contemporary Vintage Emerald Rings
Citrine, Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Gold, Sterling Silver, Enamel
20th Century Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, White Gold, 14k Gold
20th Century German Modern Emerald Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, 14k Gold, White Gold
1980s American Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1960s American Vintage Emerald Rings
Sapphire, Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1960s Italian Retro Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 14k Gold, White Gold
1990s Modern Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Art Deco Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s French Modern Emerald Rings
Emerald, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s French Retro Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
1940s Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s European Retro Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Gold
1960s Italian Retro Vintage Emerald Rings
Pearl, Emerald, Diamond, Silver, Rose Gold, 9k Gold
1970s Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Modern Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold, White Gold
1940s Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Unknown Vintage Emerald Rings
Emerald, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s American Modern Vintage Emerald Rings
Emerald, Ruby, 18k Gold, Platinum
1960s Vintage Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Gold, Silver, Sterling Silver
1990s European Retro Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold
20th Century Australian Modern Emerald Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Emerald Rings
Emerald, White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
20th Century Australian Contemporary Emerald Rings
Emerald, White Diamond, Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
Shopping for Antique and Vintage Emerald Rings?
Do you have your heart set on a vintage emerald ring? That’s not surprising — emerald engagement rings, antique emerald cocktail rings and other rings set with the vibrant stone are sophisticated and glamorous, and that verdant color, and the cachet of wielding a gem beloved and worn by so many queens and princesses (hello, Cleopatra!), could seduce anyone.
Dorothy may have worn ruby slippers, but it was the Emerald City that she was trying to get to. Upon her arrival, she was advised to wear green-tinted eyeglasses to protect her eyes from all the “brightness and glory” in L. Frank Baum’s book The Wizard of Oz. Jewelry lovers born in May can wear their beautiful birthstone, distinguished by its rich green color, on their way to see the Wizard or any other magical place.
While emeralds graced the engagement rings of style icons Wallis Simpson and Jackie Kennedy — and emeralds and yellow diamonds are adding boldness to today’s engagement rings — perhaps no one liked emeralds and emerald jewelry more than Elizabeth Taylor (or her alter ego, Cleopatra).
During the December 2011 auction of Taylor’s jewels that was held at Christie’s, there was a suite of emerald jewels that had been by Bulgari and gifted to the actress by Richard Burton to commemorate their engagement (no celebrity, or civilian for that matter, can rival Taylor in her fervor for Bvlgari). The suite consisted of an emerald and diamond ring, an emerald and flower diamond brooch, an emerald and diamond necklace, an emerald and diamond pendant brooch, a pair of emerald and diamond ear pendants and an emerald and diamond bracelet.
New York–based jewelry designer Nina Runsdorf, whose mother and grandmother both had emerald engagement rings, suggests that the stone’s color might appeal to those with an affinity for nature. “My parents left the city when I was 14 and raised us on a farm in upstate New York, so my mother’s love of nature was very strong,” she says. “I think emeralds reminded her of the wild grass and trees.”
Emeralds were first discovered in Egypt around 330 BC. The stone’s name originated from the ancient Greek word for green, “smaragdus.” According to the Gemological Institute of America, “Emeralds from what is now Colombia were part of the plunder when 16th-century Spanish explorers invaded the New World. The Incas had already been using emeralds in their jewelry and religious ceremonies for 500 years. The Spaniards, who treasured gold and silver far more than gems, traded emeralds for precious metals. Their trades opened the eyes of European and Asian royalty to emerald’s majesty.”
There are many important (read: large) emeralds in museum collections around the world. The Patricia Emerald, named after the miner’s daughter, is a 632-carat dihexagonal (or 12-sided) crystal that was discovered in Colombia in 1920 and now resides at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington has in its possession the Hooker Emerald, a 75.47-carat Colombian stone. That emerald had been acquired in the 16th or 17th century by Spanish conquistadores and shipped to Europe. It later belonged to Abdul Hamid II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1876–1909), who wore it on his belt buckle. Purchased at auction by Tiffany & Co. in 1911, the Hooker Emerald was set into a tiara and featured in the New York World’s Fair “House of Jewels” exhibit in 1940. Today, it is part of a brooch, also designed by the legendary jewelry house.
Find a range of antique and vintage emerald rings on 1stDibs.
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