Vintage Belle Epoque diamond toi et moi engagement ring

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

Condition
  -  very good condition
  -  more info on our condition scale

Style
  -   Belle Époque - 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.
  -  more info on styles

Style specifics
  -   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.

Period
  -  ca. 1909
  -  (events & facts of this era, poetry of this era, fashion of this era)

Source of inspiration
  -   Romanticism

Theme
  -   Toi et Moi ring - The French call this shape of rings "Toi et Moi" which means "You and me".

Material
  -   Two tones of precious metal, the main part being 18K pink gold and the white parts are either white gold or platinum. (touchstone tested)
  -  (more info on precious metals)

Extra information
  -   Diamond is the birthstone for the month of April, and besides being the most popular gemstone for engagement rings, it is also the anniversary gem for the 10th and 60th years of marriage.

Even though the diamond is the hardest of all gemstones known to man, it is the simplest in composition: it is common carbon. The ancient Greeks believed that diamonds were splinters of stars fallen to earth. It was even said by some that they were the tears of the Gods or perhaps crystallized lightning or hardened dew drops. The exact origin of diamonds remained something of a mystery for centuries.

In ancient times only kings wore diamonds as a symbol of strength, courage and invincibility. Over the centuries, the diamond acquired its unique status as the ultimate gift of love. It was said that Cupid's arrows were tipped with diamonds which have a magic that nothing else can ever quite equal.

But it wasn't until 1477, when Archduke Maximillian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy, that the tradition of diamond engagement rings began. Even the reason a woman wears it on the third finger of her left hand dates back to the early Egyptian belief that the vena amoris (vein of love) ran directly from the heart to the top of the third finger, left hand.

Diamonds
  -  Two old brilliant cut diamonds with an estimated weight of ± 0.71ct.
  -  One old European cut diamond with an estimated weight of ± 0.04ct.

Total diamond count
  -  21 pcs.

Total diamond weight (without rose cuts)
  -  approx. 0.74 crt. with an average colour and clarity: I/J, vs/si.

  -  All diamond weights, color grades and clarity are approximate since stones are not removed from their mounts to preserve the integrity of the setting.
  -  All diamonds we offer are screened by the IJGC (www.ijgc-worldwide.com) for whether they are natural or synthetic, and all diamonds in this jewel are 100% guaranteed to be natural.

Birthstones
  -   Diamond is the birthstone (or month stone) for April.

Engraving
  -  inside shank it says "Frank a Valerie 1 janv 1909"

Hallmarks
  -  no trace
  -  more info on hallmarks

Dimensions
  -  width top of ring 1,80 cm (0,71 inch)
  -  see picture with a ruler in cm and inches

Weight
  -  3,20 gram (2,06 dwt)

Ring size Continental EU: 57 & 18¼ , Size USA: 8 , Size UK: P½

Resizing
  -   Free resizing (only for extreme resizing we have to charge).
  -  more info on ring sizes

Adin Reference Nº
  -  21120-0105

Copyright photography
  -  Adin, fine antique jewellery

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