Ruby Radiance: A French Art Deco Engagement Ring

This striking Art Deco ring, crafted in France around 1920, masterfully blends platinum and 18K white gold. It showcases a magnificent oval cut lab-produced ruby of nearly 20 carats, evoking the allure of a crystallized burgundy rose in midwinter. Flanked by six baguette cut diamonds, the ruby's vibrant hue is heightened, akin to a floral bloom emerging from a pristine snowscape. This ring, a romantic fusion of Art Deco and Belle Époque styles, represents not just an engagement but a promise of enduring love, reminiscent of the grandeur of bygone eras.

Antique jewelry object group: engagement ring (or anniversary ring)

Condition: excellent condition
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Country of origin: France

Style: Something between Art Deco and Belle Époque - Art Deco is an eclectic artistic and design style which had its origins in Paris in the first decades of the 20th century. The style originated in the 1920s and continued to be employed until after World War II. The term "art deco" first saw wide use after an exhibition in 1966, referring to the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes that was the culmination of high-end style moderne in Paris. Led by the best designers in the decorative arts such as fashion, and interior design, Art Deco affected all areas of design throughout the 1920s and 1930s, including architecture and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as painting, the graphic arts and film. At the time, this style was seen as elegant, glamorous, functional and modern.   -  See also: Art Deco.

And the Belle Époque (French for "Beautiful Era") was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring during the time of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, the "Belle Époque" was named in retrospect, when it began to be considered a "golden age" the major powers of Europe, new technologies improved lives and the commercial arts adapted Renaissance and eighteenth-century styles to modern forms. In the newly rich United States, emerging from the Panic of 1873, the comparable epoch was dubbed the Gilded Age. In the United Kingdom, this epoch overlaps the end of what is called the Victorian Era there and the period named the Edwardian Era. or more info on styles

Style specifics: This is something between Belle Époque and Art Deco.
The Belle Époque (French for "Beautiful Era") was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century from the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) and lasted until World War I (1914-18).

Occurring during the time of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, the "Belle Époque" was named in retrospect, when it began to be considered a "golden age" the major powers of Europe, new technologies improved lives and the commercial arts adapted Renaissance and eighteenth-century styles to modern forms.

In the newly rich United States, emerging from the Panic of 1873, the comparable epoch was dubbed the Gilded Age. In the United Kingdom, this epoch overlaps the end of what is called the Victorian Era there and the period named the Edwardian Era.

In the Belle Époque cheap coal and cheap labour contributed to the cult of the orchid and made possible the perfection of fruits grown under glass, as the apparatus of state dinners extended to the upper classes; champagne was perfected during the Belle Époque. Exotic feathers and furs were more prominently featured in fashion than ever before, as haute couture was invented in Paris, the centre of the Belle Époque, where fashion began to move in a yearly cycle; in Paris restaurants such as Maxim's achieved a new splendour and cachet as places for the rich to parade, and the Opéra Garnier devoted enormous spaces to staircases as similar show places.

After mid-century, railways linked all the major cities of Europe to spa towns like Biarritz and Deauville; their carriages were rigorously divided into first-class and second-class, but the super-rich now began to commission private railway coaches, as exclusivity was a hallmark of opulent luxury. Bohemian lifestyles gained a different glamour, pursued in the cabarets of Montmartre.

Art Deco
Abstract motives and geometrical forms are quite typical for the Art Deco period. Art Deco moved away from the soft pastels and organic forms of its style predecessor, Art Nouveau, and embraced influences from many different styles and movements of the early 20th century, including Neoclassical, Constructivism, Cubism, Modernism, and Futurism. Its popularity peaked in Europe during the Roaring Twenties and continued strongly in the United States through the 1930s. Although many design movements have political or philosophical roots or intentions, Art Deco was purely decorative.

Period: ca. 1920
  -  (events and facts in 1920)

Material: platinum and 18K white gold
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Extra information: Betrothal rings were used during Roman times, but weren't generally revived in the Western world until the 13th century. The first well-documented use of a diamond ring to signify engagement was by the Archduke Maximilian of Austria in imperial court of Vienna in 1477, upon his betrothal to Mary of Burgundy.

Before the 20th century, other types of betrothal gifts were common. Before the end of the 19th century, the bride-to-be frequently received a sewing thimble rather than a engagement ring. This practice was particularly common among religious groups that shunned jewelry. Engagement rings didn't become standard in the West until the end of the 19th century, and diamond rings didn't become common until the 1930s. Now, 80% of the women are offered a diamond ring to signify engagement. (from: Wikipedia)

Diamonds: six baguette (long rectangular) cut diamonds with an estimated weight of approx. 0.20 crt.
Note: All diamond weights, color grades and clarity are approximate since the stones were not removed from their mounts to preserve the integrity of the setting.

Total diamond weight: approx. 0.20 crt.

Precious stones: One large ruby (lab produced) (also called verneuil ruby) with a weight of 19.19 crt! See pictures for the certificate of the stone..

Verneuil - Auguste Victor Louis Verneuil was a French chemist (1856-1913) He invented a type of blowpipe (chalumeau) with which he was the first to lab produce rubies. This process is also sometimes referred to as 'flame fusion'. His results were published in 1904.
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Birthstones: Diamond is the birthstone (or month stone) for April and ruby for July.
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Hallmarks: The French control mark for 18K gold representing an eagle's head (that was in use in France from about 1838) and the French control mark for platinum representing a dog's head (that was in use in France from about 1912).
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Dimensions: top of ring 2,20 cm (0,87 inch) x 1,52 cm (0,60 inch)

Weight: 11,30 gram (7,27 dwt)

Ring size Continental: 53 & 17 , Size US 6¼ , Size UK: M

Resizing: Free resizing, but because of the the way the ring is made, we cannot guarantee to make it on every size; so please ask in advance (only for extreme resizing we have to charge).
  -  (more info on ring sizes)

Reference Nº: 14028-0010

Copyright photography: Adin, fine antique jewelry

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