Antique engagement ring Belle Epoque ring with tourmaline and rose cut diamonds

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

Condition: excellent condition
  -  (more info on our condition scale)

Country of origin: Although it does not carry any legible control marks we believe this to be of Belgian origin.

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. or 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. 1910
  -  (events and facts in 1910)

Material: 18K bi-color (yellow and white) gold
  -  (more info on precious metals)

Extra information: engagement ring - Especially in Western cultures, an engagement ring is a ring indicating the that the person wearing it is engaged to be married. In the United Kingdom, and North America, engagement rings are traditionally worn only by women, and rings can feature gemstones. In other cultures men and women usually wear matching rings, which can be plain. In some cultures, engagement rings are also used as wedding rings.

Conventionally, the woman's ring is presented as a betrothal gift by a man to his prospective spouse while he proposes marriage or directly after she accepts his marriage proposal. It represents a formal agreement to future marriage. Rings can be bought by the man, the couple together, or by each partner for the other.

In North America and the United Kingdom, it is worn on the left hand ring finger, while in Poland and Ukraine, it is customary for the ring to be worn on the right hand. In Germany, the ring is worn on the left hand while engaged, but moved to the right hand when married. Similar traditions purportedly date to classical times, dating back from an early usage reportedly referring to the fourth finger of the left hand as containing the vena amoris or "vein of love".

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.

In the 20th century, if he could afford it, the typical Western groom privately selected and purchased an engagement ring, which he then presented to his desired bride when he proposed marriage. More recently, couples frequently select an engagement ring together. (from Wikipedia)

Diamonds: 14 rose cut diamonds. We do not have the weight of the diamonds which is normal in our trade when it comes to rose cuts.

Precious stones: One vivid green tourmaline with an estimated weight of approximately 0.65 crt
  -  (more info on precious stones)

Birthstones: Diamond is the birthstone (or month stone) for April and tourmaline for October.
  -  (more info on birthstones)

Hallmarks: No trace.
  -  (more info on hallmarks)

Dimensions: top of ring 1,07 cm (0,42 inch) x 1,10 cm (0,43 inch)

Weight: 2.50 gram (1.61 dwt)

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

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

Reference Nº: 13290-0129

Copyright photography: Adin, fine antique jewelry

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