Vintage Wedding Rings – New Vintage vs True Vintage

Vintage ring design on antique book.

What does ‘Vintage’ mean?

The term “Vintage wedding rings” describes wedding rings made in the past, typically of high quality. Vintage means “of age,” and many antique jewellery collectors consider any item of jewellery to be vintage when created more than 40 years ago.

The difference between ‘Vintage’ and ‘Antique’.

By comparison, “Antique jewellery” applies to jewellery over 100 years old.

In fact, many new jewellery designs replicate antique and vintage elements to give jewellery the look and feel of a much older piece.

Stacking diamond ring with baguettes and round diamonds from our fusion range.

New Vintage vs True Vintage.

Most true antique jewellery items feature a natural patina on the surface of the ring. The patina gives antique jewellery its charm. In contrast, new designs feature a brand-new shiny finish. For example our Vintage engagement rings are available via our main website.

Most of the rings sold (including ours) come under the New Vintage classification. Such brand-new rings feature vintage-inspired details.

Inspiration comes from Antique designs, including Edwardian and Victorian Periods. Rings are then styled with precious metals and diamonds where applicable.

Elizabeth, features many of the vintage styling details used in modern antique style ring designs.

Style elements of antique and vintage wedding rings.

True vintage jewellery will develop a patina over time. Both metal type and markings often suggest the age of an item of jewellery. Vintage jewellery experts can relate materials to the age of a piece. Any item created in 18ct White Gold, and described as Art Deco, will be a more modern reproduction and not true Art Deco.

True Vintage jewellery is about heritage, design and quality, not intrinsic value. Only about 20 per cent of true vintage jewellery is of a quality and heritage where dealers will compete at auction. Owing to both the rarity and cost, ‘New Vintage’ tends to prevail in popularity.

Antique Cuts of Diamonds – Baguettes, Cushions and Old Mine Cut Diamonds.

Certain diamond styles feature in true Vintage jewellery.

Vintage details often appear faithfully replicated in newer pieces of jewellery.

For example, Rose Cut diamonds (24 triangular facts on a flat base). Old Mine Cut diamonds also play a distinctive role in vintage-style jewellery.

In fact, many Art-Deco items of jewellery feature baguette-cut diamonds. At the same time, Cushion-cut diamonds appear in some vintage jewellery designs. Cushion-cut diamonds merge the beauty of square Princess cut diamonds with softer, rounded ‘pillow-shaped’ corners.

Filigree Detail.

Filigree jewellery is an ancient technique that twists and bends thin metal wires into intricate, lace-like designs. The delicate and complex patterns create lightweight and graceful jewellery designs, making filigree jewellery a popular choice for elegant styles. Antique engagement rings match beautifully to such designs. The video below shows a shaped ring combining Edwardian and Art Deco style elements and a section to accommodate the ring setting.

Milgrain Patterning.

Milgrain styling adds an effect in jewellery-making to add a touch of vintage charm to a piece. It involves creating a row of small metal beads along the edges of a piece, giving it a subtle, textured look. The style originated in the Victorian era , frequently used in fine jewellery, such as wedding bands and engagement rings.

Today, milgrain detailing can be found on various pieces, from classic to modern, adding elegance and beauty to any jewellery design.

On ring designs, small pips or grains of raised metal run in lines across part of the ring. Often seen at the edge of a ring or channel.

This is a very popular styling detail seen on many vintage wedding rings. The ancient technique of granulation reappeared in the 20th Century. Milgrain differs by being raised from the piece’s body metal rather than adding small metal beads. Some of our designs even feature a milgrain band as the central design feature of the ring.

Lace detail from Milgrain patterns

The antique wedding ring design below provides the feel of antique lace through the clever use of fine milgrain detail around white diamonds.

Vintage Wedding Rings - Filigree Detail Across Diamond Set Band1

Adding colour for contrast to a wedding ring

Antique Style Wedding Ring with Yellow Gold and Yellow Diamond Feature
One of Our Modern Vintage Wedding Rings with Invisible Settings

About Mark Johnson

My name is Mark and I'm founder at Serendipity Diamonds. By day you'll find me working in our showroom—in a variety of roles. My work (which I love) ranges from photographing jewellery, to writing blog posts and helping clients with my colleagues Drina, Emily and Debbie.

About Mark Johnson

My name is Mark and I'm founder at Serendipity Diamonds. By day you'll find me working in our showroom—in a variety of roles. My work (which I love) ranges from photographing jewellery, to writing blog posts and helping clients with my colleagues Drina, Emily and Debbie.