My new oldie!

[jstarfireb]

My 5-stone OEC ring is here! I love it. This wasn''t something I was looking for, but more of an impulse buy. I was browsing through my local jeweler''s store and came across this gorgeous estate ring that was priced extremely well! It looks extremely well cut (and shows a beautiful flower pattern with a H&A viewer). Loupe clean to my eyes. The jeweler estimated color to be F/G - it''s really white!

Center stone is estimated to be 1/3 carat, but looks SO much bigger in the fishtail setting. (Fishtail is what you call this, right?) I wish I could get better pictures, but with an old camera and poor lighting, this is the best I can do.

 

[jstarfireb]

5 stones, head on. One of the sidestones is an OEC, and the rest are modern RBs.

 

[jstarfireb]

Blurry handshot...

 

[jstarfireb]

Better handshot...great finger coverage on my 6.75!

 

[jstarfireb]

Through the loupe...

 

[jstarfireb]

Profile...

 

[jstarfireb]

Also, you can''t see it on these photos, but it has a nice little open culet that you can see with the naked eye. So cute!

 

[Erinleigh]

What a beautiful ring, and a unique setting!

 

[Snicklefritz]

Ooooh. I Love it.

 

[Mrs W]

So sparkly! You know Im really starting to love those older cuts

 

[marcy]

Gorgeous. It looks lovely on your hand.

 

[D&T]

Great Find! Gorgeous... The loupe picture of the diamond looks incredibly white and clear

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Very pretty ring, congratulations!

 

[ckrickett]

I love vintage ERs... yummy

 

[princessplease]

So pretty!!!!!

 

[tyty333]

What a great find! I think that metal around the main diamond makes it an illusion setting (which also has fishtail prongs

).

 

[tigian]

Very pretty on your finger. I love the uniqueness of it.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Cute ring!

 

[CravingDiamonds]

The ring is gorgeous and such a great find. If only I had as much luck at estate sales, usually it is all junk around here.

 

[jstarfireb]

Erinleigh, Snicklefritz, Mrs. W, marcyc, D&T, Diamond*Dana, ckrickett, princessplease, tyty333, tigian, MC, and CravingDiamonds - thanks to all of you! I''m really happy with it.

CravingDiamonds - This jeweler carries a lot of estate pieces, and he always has great deals. I love local mom-&-pop stores!

Tyty - thanks for the clarification on the setting terminology. If anyone is interested, Jewels by Erica Grace has a very similar style right now, but with a 0.97ct center stone. It looks HUGE in the illusion setting!

D&T - definitely; it''s whiter than my engagement ring (an I color princess)! I mis-spoke when I said F/G actually...that was referring to another diamond in a similar setting. It was bigger, but unfortunately there were several small chips around the girdle. This one, on the other hand, is pristine! Next time I''ll have to ask him what this color actually is - probably the same though.

 

[Monnyjay]

It''s lovely

 

[jjc]

Beautiful ring!

 

[stepcutnut]

It''s lovely!

 

[DiamondFlame]

What a lovely find! I''d be thrilled too if I were you!

 

[geckodani]

It''s lovely!!!

 

[joelly]

I wasn''t convinced at first until I see it on your finger. It looks very pretty and it does has a perfect finger coverage for you. It seems like the ring was made just for you. Congratulatios!! It''s very pretty!!!

 

[jstarfireb]

Thanks, Monnyjay, jjc, stepcutnut, DiamondFlame, geckodani, and joelly! It definitely looks a lot nicer IRL than in the pictures. I can''t seem to capture the beauty with my old camera.

For the old cut enthusiasts, I definitely see a "flower" pattern with a loupe. In fact, I took a pic through my H&A viewer, and even though it''s blurry, I can definitely see the "petals." Does that mean it''s a transitional cut?

 

[jstarfireb]

One more thing - found this quote from Richard in this thread:

1860-1900 Old Mine Cuts (cushion shaped outline)
1900-1915 Old European Cuts (round outlines)
1920-1935 European Cuts (more streamlined)
1940-1950 Transitional Cut (transitioning from European
to Round Brilliant Cut)
1950-2003 Round Brilliant Cut

These dates are not absolutes, but generalities.

I have only heard the term transitional cut used referring to the transition from Euro to RBC. I don't think it's correctly used for the period of OEC transitioning to Euro Cut.

You've probably either got an Old European Cut or European Cut. From your description, it sounds like a European Cut, which would be right for a 1920-1925 dating.

Old European Cut characteristics- High crown, small table, short star facets, very large to extremely large culet, very large lower girdle facets, symmetry poor to good.

European Cut characteristics- Lower crown, larger table, larger star facets, medium to large culet, smaller (but larger than modern RBC) lower girdle facets, symmetry usually better (fair to very good).

If you can find out the proportions for your stone, we can tell you what era it falls in. A close up picture using a magnifier or loupe might do the trick as well.

I think based on this description, it might be a European Cut (not OEC, not trans, but in between). The table is small, crown is high, culet is smallish, and it doesn't have the "maltese cross" in the center that my other antique cut does (I believe the "maltese cross" is due to very large LGF, and my "flower" pattern is due to slightly smaller LGF, but not as small as the arrows of a modern RB). Symmetry is definitely better than my other oldie.

ETA: Info on my other old cut is here.