This emerald and diamond ring is over 60 years old and was made in the Art Deco style. Famous for using bold colors and geometrical shapes, Art Deco rings also incorporate a lot of emeralds, rubies and sapphires, very much like the beautiful and oh so unique pinky ring featured below.
Cut: Emerald and 23 round brilliants, with baguettes on the side ringing the side of finger all the way to the bottom.
Carat: 4 carat emerald
Setting: Platinum, art deco
Jeweler: Tabor in Beverly Hills. 1950s.
Today we feature a ruby and diamond heirloom ring that has been passed on from mother to daughter. We love the unique and detailed setting and the way the baguettes encircle the center stone. It is absolutely breathtaking! Heirlooms such as these are special because not only are the gemstones and metal recycled, but they carry a significant history and mystique with them.
Cut: Center Diamond Euro-cut surrounded by 17 tapered baguette rubies
Carat: Center stone 1.35, baguette rubies 1.5 ct total, side panels pavaed with 5 large and 6 small diamonds, approx 2ct total.
Setting: Lady's platinum doughnut style and pave
About this ring: "This ring was purchased for my mother by my father in the 80's. It definitely is much older than that. I called it the 'Wheel of Fortune Ring' as a child because the rubys looked like the wheel to me."
Today we feature an emerald and diamond necklace whose emerald stones go back four generations. The emeralds were originally part of a necklace that was said to carry a curse. Because of the misfortune that befell this family, the necklace was destroyed and two of the emeralds were reset into the necklace pictured below. We are absolutely fascinated by this story, and although we don't normally feature necklaces, we couldn't pass this one up.
Cut: Round brilliant necklace with two emerald gems
Jeweler: Design by my grandmother and executed by TABOR of Beverly Hills in the '60s.
A Jewelry Story: "My great grandfather, on one of his trips to Paris, saw a most gorgeous emerald necklace, which he bought for his wife, who was very fond of jewelry. When he purchased the necklace, the jeweler warned him that there was curse attached to it. It was purchased by Emperor Napoleon to give to one of his sisters, of whom misfortune befell onto her family. The tale goes on to say that the necklace may have been owned, not by Marie Antoinette, but by her husband's cousin, who was very close to Antoinette, Princess Therese de Lamballe, who was also killed brutally during the Reign of Terror in 1792. My great grandparents shrugged this off, not believing in superstitions.
My family believes that the necklace did carry a curse. My grandfather's family was brutally killed during WWII by the Japanese Imperial Army in February 1945. My grandfather's brother was beheaded weeks before when he was caught listening to a short wave radio. Ironically, my grandfather was the only survivor because he was, at that time, in a Japanese Prison.
One of few survivors of the massacre came to my grandfather weeks later carrying the jewels that he was able to save of his mother. One of them was the emerald necklace. When my grandfather married my grandmother, she broke the necklace into many pieces. She reset two of the larger emeralds into another necklace - shown above."
We are so excited to feature this stunning diamond and ruby ring that belongs to a lady whose husband loved to shower her with beautiful jewelry. This is a very special piece in her collection - an antique floral ring with pigeon blood rubies - by far, the most precious and rarest of rubies from Burma (now Myanmar). According to the Burmese, there is no finer ruby than the pigeon's blood ruby, known for its deep, bold red color. Some even say there is a hint of blue or a red-magenta hue that is similar to that of freshly drawn pigeon blood - hence the name.
Cut: 16 pear shaped pigeon's blood rubies, 7 round brilliant diamond center stones
Setting: Floral setting on gold band
About this ring: Part of a matching set with earrings. Stones are from Burma, setting from Hong Kong.
Today we feature a ring with a stunning Burmese ruby center stone. Set with paves and round brilliants on a gold band, this ring is clearly a show stopper. Need we say more?
Carat: 20 Carat total weight
Setting: Not the original setting - reset on gold band with paves and round brilliants
About Burmese Rubies: The Burmese Ruby variety boasts an exceptional color. These rubies are usually, but not necessarily from Burma.
This ruby and diamond ring belongs to a bride who will be celebrating her seven year anniversary this July. Married in Cincinnati, she designed the ring together with her husband based on a ring they saw at the jeweler. They chose rubies as the side stones because both of their birthdays and their wedding day fell in July. Paired with a wedding band set with round brilliants, this ring carries so much character and style. Just beautiful! Carats: 1.02 (center diamond) and 1.05 side stones (rubies total weight) About the engagement ring: I was looking for something more unique and different than a solitaire. Even though I knew what the ring would look like, there was still an element of surprise since it was specially made and I did not see the finished product until he gave it to me!
Cut: Oval
Setting: Each stone is set in a 4 prong basket style head on a cathedral style shank.
Jeweler: Harlan McGuire (A small family owned jeweler in Charlottesville, Virginia, which is now closed.)
When you think about engagement rings, you think diamond. However, those who have chosen the ruby over the diamond have chosen the king of gems - a fiery, energetic, passionate stone. The red of a ruby is undeniably rich and distinct. Its no surprise then that the richness of a ruby's color is the most important factor in determining the stone's value. A rare ruby can be more valuable than a diamond and the best of them sell for a thousand dollars a carat. The rarest and most valuable ruby stone, the pigeon's blood ruby, boasts a rich dark hue and comes from Myanmar (formerly Burma). Originally, the finest rubies were mined in Burma and it is from there that the term Burmese ruby began to describe the finest rubies.
We love trivia..so here are some ruby tidbits for you today..
1. The word ruby comes from the Latin rubens which means red.
2. The ruby is a red sapphire. The ruby is a form of the mineral corundum (as is a sapphire). The only difference is the color. The red color comes from the mineral chromium.
3. Ruby is the birthstone for July and is traditional gift for those celebrating 15th or 40th anniversaries.
4. Rubies are extremely strong. They are as resilient as sapphires and only slightly softer than diamonds.
5. Jackie Kennedy Onassis owned a 17.68 carat ruby ring. We can't find a picture of the original ring, but it looked something like this.
Here is the photo of the world's largest ruby on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Gem and Mineral collection in Washington, D.C.
http://www.diamondvues.com/archives/largest%20ruby%20ring.jpg
Carat: 23.1 Carat Burmese Ruby (&) Diamond Ring
About this ring: the diamond and ruby ring was a gift from Peter Buck, founder of the Subway Sandwich chain in honor of his late wife.
This week, we feature unique ruby and diamond engagement rings. And yes, we have a rare, pigeon's blood ruby ring..so stay tuned.
We must admit, we got a little emotional when we saw this stunning emerald collection that is over 70 years old! This antique emerald and diamond ring was given to a very special lady in the 1930's in Paris - her husband was clearly well ahead of his time in taste. The Art Deco Movement of the 20's and 30's introduced new styles in jewelry that featured bold colors and geometric shapes such as these. This was the new "modern" look. Collections like these bring a whole new meaning and appreciation to heirloom jewelry.
Cut: Emerald Center stone with round brilliant hexagonal halo setting
Jeweler: Renee Puisant of Van Cleef & Arpels
About this ring: This ring comes as part of a complete, and just as gorgeous set. Below are the bracelet, necklace, and earrings.
Keeping in the spirit with St. Patty's Day festivities, today we feature a famous emerald and diamond ring - the ring of the memorable Jackie Kennedy. The world first caught a glimpse of this ring on June 4, 1953 when JFK proposed...and from the moment she slipped it on, emeralds became the most popular choice of engagement rings in mid 1950's. At the time, the design of the ring was considered very modern, but like everything she did, she did with a flawless sense of style.
Cut: Square cut diamond (princess, emerald, or radiant) and emerald cut emerald
Carat: one 2.88 carat diamond next to a 2.84 carat cut emerald with tapered baguettes.
Jeweler: Van Cleef & Arpels
About this ring: JFK's father, Joe Kennedy Sr., picked this ring out for Jackie. In 1962, the ring was reset to include 0.66 total carat weight of round diamonds and 1.46 total carat weight of marquise diamonds.
Stay tuned...we have lots of green goodies for St. Patrick's Day!
Today we feature a three stone diamond and sapphire ring from a bride of eight years from Boulder, Colorado. Her fiance pleasantly surprised her with these blue side-stone gems when he proposed, and she has since gotten many compliments on it! We love that her now husband went out on a limb with the sapphires! Its definitely an eye catcher and a timeless look!
Cut: Round brilliant diamond and blue sapphire side-stones
Carat: 1.8 carat diamond, 1.2 carat sapphires
Setting: Platinum 4 prong
Wedding band: 8 small round diamonds set in platinum
