My Jewel Box: Elongated Antique Diamond Ring Obsession

One look at these photos and you will realize my growing obsession for elongated antique diamond rings. I can’t even remember really where or why it all started, but each one is incredibly unique, thoughtfully intricate and immaculately designed. Most of these types of rings are from the Edwardian period, where the tops are done in platinum and the shank and setting is done in yellow gold. The diamonds are almost always imperfectly perfect–wonky cuts, usually Old Mine cuts mixed with some Old European cuts, maybe even a single cut where the tiniest stones lay. The shapes and silhouette can be worn either way, so there’s no “upside down” side to these pieces! Some tend to be more geometric than others, while some have lacy attributes. Some look like a diamond creature, while others look very floral and feminine. I’ve noticed these diamonds tend to be high on the clarity scale, but often are very low on the color scale, sometimes even playing off the different levels of yellow-ness within the design itself. 

Oddly enough, I’ve found most of my entire collection of these particular rings on eBay! While in Las Vegas, I added another to my collection (the one on my pointer finger in the above photos). It was a surprisingly good find and per usual, fell into place…as I was wrapping up my last full day at the show and was about to head out, I stumbled upon it!  It was sold to me by Bluestone Trading Company based out of Cleveland, Ohio. It was love at first sight and definitely a happy moment when I realized I hadn’t found anything for myself the past two days at the shows yet. The worst would have been if I bought something else that I totally wasn’t in love with and spent my money, and then found this afterwards! That’s my worst nightmare!  haha It was a great way to commemorate the trip, as it was one of the most busy/hard-working weekends of my life! 

I’ve seen some amazing auction archives with gorgeous examples of elongated Edwardian diamond rings. Sad that I missed out on them, but excited that they may resurface onto the market someday. These kinds of rings are an investment piece, that’s for sure! So, you either have to continually save so when you do find one, you are able to buy it.  Or buy it on credit and pay it off eventually over time or sell a few smaller rings to pay for one large one like these. I never thought I would have a collection like this back when I started my blog in 2008.  It is crazy to see how far my love for jewelry has come and how many miles I’ve traveled all in the name of jewels!!