Why Choose a Vintage Engagement Ring?
Your engagement ring is a sign of eternal love. You want something unique to reflect that love. While modern engagement rings are stunning, they lack the history and natural beauty that comes from vintage engagement rings.
Most of today’s engagement rings are mass-produced, focusing on a small number of settings with similar cuts, almost always using diamonds. A vintage engagement ring stands out and tells a story.
Every antique ring has its own personality and is handmade, unlike many of today’s engagement rings. You can celebrate your love with a one-of-a-kind vintage engagement ring.
Celebrities like Pippa Middleton, Penelope Cruz, and Mary Kate Olsen all have vintage engagement rings, showing the universal appeal of these attention-grabbing styles. At Ellibelle Jewellery, we offer a unique collection of antique and vintage engagement rings, hand-selected for their quality, history, and precious gems.
What Does a ‘Vintage Engagement Ring’ Mean?
The terms ‘antique’ and ‘vintage’ are often used interchangeably when describing older engagement rings, but there is one distinctive difference. While most jewellers agree that a vintage ring is a style older than 20 years old, an antique ring is at least 100 years old.
There are several periods for antique engagement rings, including Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Vintage engagement rings are typically post-war period but can come from the mid-1920s to 1970s. Art Deco engagement rings technically fall into both the vintage and antique categories, as the style was popular from 1920 until the mid-1930s.
A Unique Piece of History
Buying a vintage engagement ring means you own a unique piece of history. We no longer make rings the way we did 50 or 100 years ago. Modern diamonds are not cut and polished by hand the way they once were. Instead of being handmade, most modern diamonds are computer analysed and laser cut to give an identical finish to every ring.
Vintage engagement rings were made by hand and polished by master cutters, meaning that every ring was different from each other. These rings are part of jewellery history and have a more human connection from their production to the previous owner.
If you’re a history enthusiast, a vintage engagement ring showcases your personality, whether you’re drawn to the glamour of Art Deco or the romanticism of an Edwardian ring.
Family Heirlooms
An engagement ring is not just a piece of history, it’s a family heirloom. Vintage rings make an extra special heirloom if you know the provenance of the ring or who it previously belonged to.
Unlike contemporary engagement rings that quickly date and go out of style, a vintage ring is timeless with an eternal appeal, making it the perfect heirloom to pass down to the next generation.
Vintage Engagements Rings are a Sustainable Choice
Sustainability is one of the biggest buzzwords right now, and not just in the jewellery industry. We’re all trying to make more environmentally conscious decisions. Choosing to buy a vintage engagement ring is the most sustainable way to buy diamonds or precious gems, as they’re not newly sourced.
There’s a growing trend amongst contemporary designers to opt for lab-grown diamonds as an eco-friendly alternative to supporting diamond mining. If you want a genuine diamond or precious gem, a vintage engagement ring is the most environmentally conscious way to purchase one to minimise your carbon footprint. Buying an antique engagement ring is often more affordable than opting for a contemporary lab-grown diamond ring.
Natural Diamonds and Precious Stones
While today’s jewellers have mastered the art of lab-grown diamonds, the same isn’t true for precious stones. If you’re a fan of sapphire engagement rings, an antique or vintage style is the best way to buy a natural gemstone without impacting the planet.
Antique stones are also more durable and long-lasting than the synthetic gems you’ll find on the market today. Today’s gemstones are often heavily treated to achieve a certain clarity and colour, losing the uniqueness of the gem, and making it more brittle and potentially prone to damage.
If you want to invest in a natural gemstone for your engagement ring, consider a Victorian or Georgian ring, as these eras pre-date the mass production of synthetic gemstones.
Antique Engagement Rings are More Affordable
An engagement ring is one of the most expensive things you’re likely to ever buy. If you’re on a budget or want to get value for money, a vintage engagement ring is a more affordable choice.
You’ll often be able to purchase a larger carat stone or higher gold purity when choosing an antique ring compared to a brand new, contemporary ring. Vintage engagement rings are more affordable as you’re not paying for the material sourcing or design, making more luxurious rings more accessible.
Distinctive Styles for Every Personality
While modern engagement rings are beautiful, they don’t have the quaint charm and personality of a vintage style. If you visit a local jewellery store, it’s easy to see how similar most of today’s engagement rings are, often with identical-looking diamond settings.
When you choose a vintage engagement ring, you get to appreciate the craftsmanship of a bygone era of jewellery design with a ring you’re unlikely to find in a shop window. Every era of antique engagement rings offers something different, from the geometric shapes of the Art Décor era to the intricate designs of the Victorian era and the Edwardian focus on lace-inspired silhouettes. A vintage engagement ring is guaranteed to be a showstopper and a conversation starter with a style to suit the personality of every couple.
Vintage Engagement Rings Keep Their Value
Jewellery is an investment, and your engagement ring is no exception. Antique and vintage engagement rings maintain their value better than most modern rings unless you’re choosing to buy from a fine jewellery house like Tiffany’s or Cartier.
Vintage engagement rings that are kept in good condition often maintain or even appreciate in value. The timeless designs of these eras mean they always be in demand and remain popular for generations to come.
Are you shopping for a vintage engagement ring? Explore our latest finds, uploaded to the website every Sunday at 7 pm.
