One Ring to Rule Them All

What's an engagement ring post without a Lord of the Rings reference? Actually, it's funny I should mention that because apparently when Mr. C first showed his brother-in-law the ring (it was sent to their house for secrecy) - he remarked that it looked like the ring the "elf lady" had in Lord of the Rings. This should have been Mr C's first indication that he had chosen well.

Anyway, at last I have the big engagement ring reveal! I will have a separate entry (or two) about the actual proposal, but for now here is the ring:

Personal Photos

It has a .56ct diamond set in platinum. The diamond has a clarity of VS2, F color, and it is an Old European Cut with big facets that were hand cut. It also has four smaller accent diamonds around the main diamond followed by two half moon emeralds. It is considered an art deco style and is most likely from the early 1920's. According to the appraiser, as far as they could tell the entire ring is still in its original state (i.e. nothing has been replaced or changed since it was created).

It was purchased from an antique and vintage jewelry store in Largo, Florida called Gesner Estate Jewelry. Mr. C purchased it from their website and had it privately appraised after it arrived. Of course, this was all in secret. He kept it hidden for weeks before he proposed! But later I found out that he left school early one day to have it secretly appraised. He carted it down the hallway showing it to some of my coworkers who were awesome about keeping it all a secret. It makes me so happy to think of Mr. C showing off this monumental purchase.

I love the delicate open scroll work on the sides. I think my ring really suits my personality. I'm not a flashy person, so something modest is definitely more my style. Something else I love about my ring is the fact that if it has survived 80 years, I'm sure it will last 80 more.

Personal Photos

I like the emeralds but I wish they carried a little more light than they do. They appear pretty dark when the ring is on my finger. Mr. C and I have discussed perhaps replacing them with diamonds or sapphires down the road as an "upgrade" but I'm not sure I will ever want to change my ring. I love the colored stone accents that were so popular in early 20th century engagement rings so if ever do decide to make any changes I'd want to stay true to the look of that era.

I remember the first time I saw when my fiance presented it to me. It was only last March, but it already seems so long ago. We were outside and it was sparkling like crazy in the sunlight. I thought it seemed so perfect and delicate. After spending months and months searching for rings online and never being able to see them in person, you must understand how anxious I was to have this ring finally on my finger.

Interested in owning your own antique or vintage engagement ring? These are a few of my favorite sites:

• Gesner Estate Jewelry
• The Three Graces
• Erie Basin (definitely check out their blog!)
• Era Gem
• Brilliant Earth

And just to make a few distinctions while you are looking:

Antique =  Around 80-100 years old
Vintage = At least 20 years old

Happy hunting! (It never hurts to look, right? Right??)