Vintage and antique rings from Lyppens jewellers

Lyppens jewellers have a vast collection of unique antique and vintage rings from many style periods, namely the late 19th century, Art Nouveau, Belle Époque, Art Deco and Retro. The sales team can help you when choosing a beautiful 14 or 18 karat ring.

Different style periods

The 19th century is a period when a lot of different styles were in fashion, sometimes at parallel times, many of these styles were 19th century interpretations of earlier art movements, these 19th century inspirations are commonly known as neo styles, for example Neo Gothic, Neo Renaissance and Neo Etruscan. Aside from these neo styles the Lyppens collection has a large collection of 19th century rose cut diamond rings, set on foil so that the diamond can sparkle in 19th century candle light.

An Art Nouveau ring is often considered a piece of art. Its theme is often inspired by femininity, nature such as flora and fauna, and organic shapes. Light colours are often used in combination with a lot of enamel work and notably there was a lack of expensive gemstones used.

The Belle Époque, also known as the Edwardian period, comes just before the Art Deco period and characterises itself by a rich use of diamonds, platinum and expensive gemstones. It is inspired by the court of Louis XVI / late 18th century architecture, often with a rich use of laurel wreaths and bow ties.

Art Deco is characterised by the frequent use of platinum and white gold. In combination with primary colours such as onyx, ruby, sapphire, emerald and diamonds, a new and very geometric style was formed. The Art Deco period has given us a jewellery design that is still considered very timeless today.

The period after the second world war yellow gold started taking centre stage in jewellery design. The late forties and fifties are often called the Retro period. In this new atomic age the rigid symmetrical Deco style slowly makes way for a more playful feminine design. A new age of jewellery design using a combination of precious and semi-precious gemstones in combination with large gold settings.

The 60’s builds further on this style with inspiration coming from mammals, often playfully presented, in the shape of brooches, pendants, bracelets and rings together with the use of large gemstones in combination in large cocktail and bombé rings.

The 70’s saw a time when literally anything was possible and larger abstract designs define this period.

Common diamond cuts

The diamond cut common to many antique and vintage rings is the rose cut diamond. This is a dome shaped diamond, often set on a piece of silver foil and in a silver setting. The silver foil would reflect the light back at the viewer, giving the rose cut diamond more life and sparkle. Even today the rose cut diamond is an important cut for Lyppens jewellers.

The brilliant cut, known today, was not fully developed until 1920, but despite that, the unique characteristics of diamonds were not lost on the cutters of earlier times. The round earlier interpretations of the brilliant cut are known as old European or old brilliant cut diamonds. Some larger thick stones that slightly resemble a very rough version are known as old mine cuts. The cutters of the old days knew of the mesmerising effect that diamond has when cut properly, but diamonds were then traded largely on weight and thus cut to weight not to light properties.