How to Spot Vintage Looking Engagement Rings

There are all kinds of vintage looking engagement rings on the market that look old but aren't. The reason for this is because not everyone has an heirloom ring that is handed down from generation to generation. Some people want a ring that looks like an antique but is new. Also, antique rings can be expensive. Rather than buying an actual antique ring some people prefer to buy a new ring that only looks antique. If this is what you want to do, learn to spot the vintage jewelry style. There are different time periods that qualify as vintage with the most popular being Victorian.

Vintage jewelry is at least 50 years old, although some people will tell you 100. Others date the vintage period as anything before 1900. The Victorian age spanned from 1837 to 1901 and was very influential where jewelry is concerned. Early Victorian jewelry didn't feature many diamonds because people couldn't get them. If you did see a Victorian engagement ring made from diamonds they would likely be clusters of small stones rather than one big stone. Towards the end of the Victorian age diamonds became much more common and were used for engagement stones.

Colored diamonds were all the rage in Victorian times. Today the most popular shade is white, but back then many women wore pink, green, blue or yellow diamonds. The snake wedding ring was another Victorian trend. This type of ring features two snakes entwined with each other. Snake wedding rings were often adorned with colored gems like rubies or emeralds. If a snake ring is too different for your taste, consider an engagement ring embellished with romantic detailing or colored stones. Emeralds, rubies and sapphires are all enduring gemstones that are romantic and beautiful.

Vintage engagement rings often featured large stones that weren't as perfect as the diamonds you'll see today. The reason for this is technology. Today's jewelry makers have state of the art devices to help them examine, cut and polish diamonds. Back then the techniques were very basic and did not involve fancy machinery. When it comes to the preferred setting, many vintage rings were set in platinum. Rose gold was a popular choice with the Victorians. Of course white or yellow gold is a classic choice for any time period.