18th Century

FUN RINGS

Wheareas the 17^th century wedding and love rings have a more serious character, the 18^th century rings are much less so. They make fun of the wedding ring.

“Buy a wedding ring? No sir, I thank you kindly, that’s a toy I never design to play with. Tis is the most dangerous piece of goods in your whole shop. People are perpetually doing themselves a mischief with it. They hand themselves separately to get loose again.”

And fun rings include those with symbols like rabbit…haha

HEART MOTIF

The heart was by far the most popular motif -not only double as in alliance but single, crowned, pierced by arrows, aflame and tied with a lover’s knot, or with a diamond key attached. To emphasize the symbolism some had mottoes round the hoop such a A PLEDGE OF MY LOVE.

HAIR

The ring is sometimes interestingly attached with  hair of a beloved, like a father’s or a granddaughter’s. The hair can be either attached to the top of the pendant woven into a pattern or inserted round the hoop depending on the designer.

this is really new…

Rings in large scale

In the 1770s, a new type of long ring emerged, made to large scale which was then in fashion. And thus providing space for tableaux of women in classical dress writing love letters. The pictures in the ring are the narratives and they tell a certain love story.

Eg. Lamenting the departure of a lover as a ship sails away from the shore

 

Renaissance

GIMMEL RING

Gimmel rings were also used as love tokens since the double bezel and hoops fit closely together can signify 2 lovers side by side, as they journey together through life. In the double hoop, each part is apparently free yet inseparable, both formed for uniting and complete only in their union affords a suitable representation of the married state. The double hoops bear the names of the couple concerned and an inscription which is often a quotation from the bible reminding them of the indissolubility of Christian marriage.

CUPID

Cupid with attributes of bow, quiver and arrows is very much evident, reflecting the prominence his activities are accorded in literature.

ok…gosh cupid are reallie very traditional love icons that we don’t really use today alr…

okok maybe on statues but we still consider it love of the past times…

and dog was also a symbol of love which kinda surprised me because I would never really link a dog to a lover. But it was a symbol of fidelity between lovers at those time.

 

MIDDLE AGES

tears

Besides revivals from Antiquity such as heads of lovers and face to face and Hercules knot, new themes likeTears emerged. The tears were shed both in sorrow and joy. “The sorrowful heart weeps blood, joyful tears show thy true heart” “tears are messengers from the heart”

 

MIDDLE AGES

Posey rings are rings with poems inscribed usually in French, for centuries the universal language of love. At first in lombardic script followed by black letter in 15^th century. Most posy rings repeat the same inscriptions. Presumably these posies were intended for those aware of the literature of the time and those who could not only read the Lombardic and blackletter script but also knew French. Also in the vernacular is the posy inscribed on the hoop of a fine late 14^th cent Italian ring.

 

BYZANTIUM

The rings of the Byzantine period reflect the bride and groom as full length figures standing before Christ. From these rings, we see they either join their hands ‘dextrarum iunctio’ or by placing crowns on their heads during the ceremony. The ring is inscribed in Greek ‘Vow’ or ‘Harmony’ expressing hopes for the future happiness of the pair Christ is crowning. The eight sided hoop and the pleas for harmony and for God’s help allude to the couple’s hope of successful childbearing

 

Start with Rome

Rings are inscribed with words, ‘Accept this dear for many a year.’ Other messages like ‘Honey’ or ‘Sweetheart’ were either carved into metal bezal or engraved into hard stones. It used to be a favourite plot of young romans to place rings in their mouths and challenge young ladies to come up close and see what’s written on them.

The rings with a pair of clapsed hands called ‘dextrarum iunctio’ represented a pledge of engagement to marriage given by the couple. These rings had a long future ahead of them.The fede rings emerges in the middle ages. This motif of 2 clasped used as early as the 12^th century remained popular  for the next 600 years adapting to changing artistic styles.

In some, the hands are covered with buttoned gloves and there are flowers issuing forth from a heart at the base of the hoop.

might not be that obvious but there are carvings of the clasped hands , 3rd cent

 

Some pretty randoms=)

 

A Ring Glossary

Time to study about rings=)

Bezel, or Collet, Setting

Interchangeable terms, bezel and collet settings have a band of metal ard the girdle of the gem

Center Stone

The largest stone at the centre of the ring

Channel Setting

A band of sq or baguette shaped stones- all of equal size- set b/w 2 parallel rows of metal.

Crossover Ring or Bypass Ring

The shank has a higher and lower arm that extend a little beyond the center. A gem can be set directly between the parts or at the end of each arm.

Micro Pave

Tiny diamonds paved across a metal surface

Millegrain

A decoration of very small platinum beads. Millegrain is an old technique found on rings from the 1890s to around 1920. Contemporary jewelers use millegrain on engagement rings to give them a vintage veneer.

Pave

Gems set as close as possible across a metal surface.

Prong Setting

Little metal claws that hold a gem in place

Setting

How a gem is mounted, eg. a prong setting or pave setting.

Shank

The band of a ring

Shoulders

The area of the side stones

Side Stones

The small stones flanking a center stone on an engagement ring. Most popular side stones are named for their shape such as trapezoid, trillion (a tri shape), and a half moon- except the baguette (a slender rectangular shape), which is named after the famous french bread.

Solitaire

By definition a solitaire is a ring with one diamond, but the term is used loosely to refer to all engagement rings with a diamond center stone, even if it has side stones or other gem embellishments.

Split shank

A band that has 2 parallel lines or that splits into two or three parts, like a V or a W, at the sides of the center stone.

Tension Setting

A shank that works as a clamp on a diamond and holds it in place. There is nothing, no prongs or anything else between a shank and a stone.

Three Stone

A ring with three stones of the same shape. They can be all the same size or a large center stone with slightly smaller side stones.

V Tip

A metal prong in the shape of a Vm made to hold the ends of pear or marquise- shaped diamonds

 

Princess Cut

History of Princess Cut Engagement Rings

The practical history of cutting diamonds dated back at the Middle Ages, before which time diamonds were enjoyed in their natural octahedral state. Long before a princess cut engagement ring had ever been made, developments on nature pure design of the diamond involved an uncomplicated polishing of the octahedral crystal faces to make even and ideal facets.

Nuremberg, Germany was the first place for diamond polishers’ guild. This is in 1370 that diamonds was very precious for their adamantine and superlative hardness. Because to the human eye a table-cut diamond was black, then the most chosen jewelry around this time period is rubies and sapphires.

The development of diamond saws and quality jewelry lathes raised the development of modern diamond cutting and produced the first cut diamond; the “round brilliant” cut. In 1919, Marcel Tolkowsky analyzed this cut by taking both brilliance and fire into consideration, making a delicate balance between the two. Tolowsky’s calculations still give out as the base for brilliant cut modifications and standards in the entire world.

In the recent time we understand that a diamond’s appearance is organized from many light paths that reflect greatly more than two times within the diamond, something was not recognized by Tolowsky. Today’s novel technology, that includes laser cutting and computer-aided design, has enabled the development of cuts whose complexity, optical performance, and waste reduction have totally changed the industry.

 

Princess Rings

The simplest meaning of a princess ring would be a ring that is either worn by a princess or fit to be worn by a princess. But in most cases, you will find that a diamond princess ring, princess cut ruby ring etc refer to a ring with a square gemstone. Let us now consider these two types of princess rings.

A princess ring that refers to royal jewelry would mean a ring with a design that was formerly worn by a princess. Traditionally, these would be antique princess rings and most of these rings have their origins in Asia, mainly India and Thailand. The terms Thai princess ring or Asian princess ring, refer to such rings. The most popular design for a princess ring from Thailand is a design with tiers of gemstones. You might see such a princess ring with a circular design, on the outer edge could be gorgeous sapphires, rubies could form the next row as you move towards the center. The top of a Thai princess ring would be a single round gemstone, a diamond, yellow sapphire or a similar exotic gemstone. Another popular Asian princess ring is based on the headress of ancient Indian princesses. Such a princess ring would have a marquise shaped gemstone in the center and 3 to 4 square gems on either side. Modern jewelry designers have churned out hundreds of design variations for such antique princess rings.

Another type of princess ring is a ring with a square gemstone or diamond. In this case the type of cut (faceted cut) of the diamond or gemstone, gives the ring the name, princess ring. Gemstone cutters refer to this cut as the ‘princess cut’ and rings made with such gems or diamonds are called princess cut rings. If you have heard of rings like, diamond princess cut ring, princess cut sapphire ring, engagement princess ring or wedding diamond princess ring, this would be the design concept being referred to. Some diamond princess rings can have prices that come close to the antique style princess ring (royal jewel) mentioned above.