Engagement Rings With Class And Style
Vintage is often a term that is used when describing fashions from the past that aren’t quiet at the level of being considered antiques but are still classics. Vintage engagement rings can be from any time period considered to be more modern than ancient, typically from the early 1900’s to the retro period of even into the 1970’s.
Most of the engagement rings from these time periods had very distinctive qualities that uniquely categorize the rings as being vintage. Typically the rings included both yellow and white gold combinations on the bands, however platinum was and is also used in creating some very unique settings and bands.
In a great number of these engagement rings the band tends to be very narrow at the back of the ring, then widens and expands to present a moderately large front surface area. It is common for the band to be yellow gold and the mountings for the diamonds to be in white gold, providing additional light reflection around the diamonds.
Rather than completely all small diamonds or one large diamond, vintage rings tend to use more medium to smaller sized diamonds to create the sparkle and shine. Other precious and semi-precious stones are common in settings for these types of engagement rings.
A popular cut in vintage engagement rings as well as in antique diamond rings is the cushion cut. Cushion cut engagement rings have a beautiful, soft internal sparkle and fire and are ideal to stand alone on a simple band. The cut also works well with interlocking and curved wedding band and engagement ring sets.
Originally known as candlelight diamonds, cushion cut diamonds were in highest demand at the turn of the century. The softer facets really reflected light from candles, hence the common name for the cut. Almost all cushion cut diamonds are an oval to soft rectangular shape but there is lots of variation.
The facets on vintage style or new versions of the cushion cut diamond tend to include longer, more open facets. This allows slightly more light loss from the diamond, resulting in the softer reflection without loosing all the light internally. Generally these diamonds are used as either solitaire or in pave type settings surrounded by smaller diamonds.
Vintage engagement rings featuring some of the detailed filigree and metal work from these earlier times are a great option for a classic yet unusual style. Browsing through estate jewelry sales for rings or purchasing a new creation of a modern classic are both great options for finding these styles of engagement rings.