We’ve already looked at several styles of vintage diamond rings, including signet diamond rings and bridal jewellery pieces. There are, however, several other styles to consider when shopping for vintage diamond rings that may suit you best.
One popular style among vintage diamond rings were friendship diamond rings. These could be exchanged between two close friends or given as promise rings to indicate the intent to propose marriage at a later date. These types of vintage diamond rings are also known as ‘Regard’ rings. Upon closer inspection, one will find that these diamond rings were aptly named for the fact that they were set with a ruby, an emerald, a garnet, an amethyst, another ruby, and then a diamond, with the first letter of each gemstone in these unique diamond rings spelling out the word regard. For an extra special touch, a sapphire could be included in the rings as well, making them ‘regards’ rings.
Other friendship or promise diamond rings at the time utilized the Claddagh design. This was symbolized by two hands holding a heart and bearing a crown. They often featured a heart shaped diamond in the design to make them truly splendid diamond rings.
Cocktail or dress diamond rings were also extremely popular and numerous examples of beautiful vintage cocktail diamond rings still exist on the market today. Unlike the other types of rings we’ve looked at so far, cocktail diamond rings were meant to stand apart from the rest of the crowd, displaying the true beauty and extravagance that diamond rings were meant to achieve. While cocktail diamond rings are still popular in modern design, vintage cocktail rings were particularly dazzling due to the age of indulgence that many of them dated back to.
While more of a time period than a style of ring, Art Deco diamond rings are another category in extremely high demand on the vintage market. Art Deco rings were not only stunningly beautiful, they were also very unique. Instead of the flowing curves and organic nature of other vintage pieces, Art Deco diamond rings broke the mould with their reliance on architectural designs, focused on sharp lines and clean angles. Often replicated in modern design, the Art Deco period was one of the most successful times for jewellery design and still remains so even in the modern day.