Vintage-Style Engagement Rings: How and Where to Buy Them

Your once-in-a-lifetime engagement occasion and wedding are right around the corner. Everything's coming together as planned. Have you found the perfect vintage-style engagement ring yet?

Narrowing down options from the seemingly endless variety of mountings for your engagement ring is incredibly rewarding, interesting, and educational. With so many styles on the market, how will you find THE ONE meant for you? The one you have always envisioned?  Will you find the very one that really showcases your personality and style?

Vintage-style engagement rings offer imaginative details, attention to design, and fascinating stone arrangements that are anything but ordinary. These engagement rings exude a highly creative look with ornate, heartfelt sophistication and unforgettable mountings.

Choosing a vintage-style engagement ring is an exciting journey for all of your picture-perfect moments on your special bridal occasion. Commemorate your love with an ode to Old World elegance and refined glamour with vintage styles.

This easy-to-read blog post will help guide you when you go shopping for vintage engagement rings. This brief article will go over style elements, stone placements, settings, and stone cuts. Learning about vintage is as intriguing as the final purchase of your chosen diamond engagement ring.

Vintage vs. Vintage-Inspired

Vintage items charm on-lookers with quaint details, harkening back to the distant past with elegance, nostalgia, and timelessness that lives on forever with an avid appreciation of its uniqueness.

Vintage is defined as being something that has been made during a specified year. Vintage refers to something produced in the past and typical of that period (of time) in which it was made (Cambridge Dictionary).

Vintage typically refers to anything that was made 40 years ago, but many debate this. Some experts claim vintage is defined as something over 10 years old. The word antique references items made over 100 years ago. Although vintage and antique are used interchangeably, they are not the same. It is the period in which they were produced that denotes the difference.

Vintage style, vintage-inspired, inspired by vintage designs, and retro style are designs produced during recent years to capture the essence of vintage and vintage styles of the past. These are not actually vintage items. They are items reimagined to capture all of the design elements of a previous period, reworked into modern products to purchase.

Keeping these points in mind will help with the shopping process. Whether you are shopping for a vintage-inspired ring setting, vintage-style ring mountings, or vintage-inspired engagement rings, you can easily decipher between vintage, antique, and contemporary vintage styles.

Vintage Style Details

It's all in the details! The following is a list of details to look for if you seek a vintage-style engagement ring. These design elements may be found on both vintage and vintage-inspired engagement rings.

MILGRAIN

Milgrain appears as very small metal beaded accents on the mounting.

Milgrain can be around the settings, down the band, underneath the setting, or on the sides of the band. Milgrain is handset in rows with precision, giving the mounting a rustic or chainmail appearance.

BLACK ANTIQUE FINISH or “ANTIQUING”

A black antique finish may also accompany milgrain edges. Antique detail appears as a rustic darkening of the metal in certain areas and is almost always combined with a bright shine, giving the mounting a shadow-like effect.

When combined, these two design components give the ring incredible dimension, texture, and romantic enchantment.

Buying Suggestion: Milgrain is suited for those who love a very ornate style of mounting. Black antiquing is the ultimate selection for an armored, magical castle, rich royalty style.

FILIGREE

Filigree patterns are delicate tendrils of metal meticulously designed into open patterns, giving it a lace-like appearance. It commonly features floral and trellis motifs on top of the mounting. Filigree is dainty in design with open spaces giving it an unmistakable vintage glamour.

Filigree can be intricate or more basic with simple patterns.

Buying Suggestion: Filigree is feminine and flowery, perfect for those who love very intricate details.

HALO SETTINGS

Halo settings are a type of cluster setting. Cluster settings include multiple stones mingling together, creating an impressive style of brilliance, vibrancy, and lavishness. This style is a very popular choice for engagement rings.

Sparkling round brilliant cut diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, rubies, and other precious or semi-precious stones are often used in this setting.

Halo settings use prong or shared prong settings circling the center stone. Halos can be round, pear-shaped, square, cushion, or marquise, depending on the center stone’s shape.

Buying Suggestion: Halo settings are ideal for those who adore the glamorous multi-stone look.

FLORAL SETTINGS

Floral settings are also another style of cluster settings. Floral designs may include mixed-cut stones artfully set in a spectacular cluster on the top and band.

These settings resemble a sweeping floral, vine, or trellis design capturing incredible romance and fire with a breathtaking pattern of gemstones and/or diamonds.

Buying Suggestion: If you want a show-stopping look, floral settings are perfect. Dazzling and impressive, these glamorous settings provide many diamonds or stones in luscious metals.

BEZEL SETTINGS

A bezel setting presents a retro-mod appearance, ideally suited for those who love sleek, clean lines and a very “metal” look. A bezel is a frame or cap of metal surrounding the stone, encasing the stone in rich metal, giving the engagement ring an almost industrial style.

Bezel settings can intermingle with other design elements and is a very versatile setting. It takes the place of prong settings. This is the most secure setting style.

Buying Suggestion: Bezel settings are great for those who want a contemporary style with a hint of retro flair. Bezel settings will not snag on clothing or get caught on hair, unlike prong settings.

The Best Diamond Shapes for Vintage-Style Engagement Rings

OVAL-CUT DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RINGS

Oval diamond engagement rings are a great choice for those who seek vintage inspiration. The oval shape presents a symmetrical stone that is unique, standing out from the crowd with its uncommon style. Oval diamond engagement rings can feature all of the design elements described above, making them versatile.

Buying Suggestion: Select an oval diamond engagement ring for a timeless style with a hint of vintage glamour.

Shop Vintage-Style Oval-Cut Engagement Rings

EMERALD-CUT DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RINGS

Emerald-cut diamonds have a rich, long history and are perfect for someone who is seeking Art-Deco glamour. These diamonds are cut to show off the diamond’s clarity and are known for their stunning Hall of Mirrors effect.

Buying Suggestion: Set your emerald-cut diamond in a side stone or halo setting for extra sparkle.

Shop Emerald-Cut Vintage-Style Engagement Rings

CUSHION-CUT ENGAGEMENT RINGS

The modern cushion-cut is a descendant of the old mine cut, an antique diamond cut. These diamonds are sometimes called candlelight diamonds since they were cut to sparkle in candlelight (how romantic!). With soft, pillowy corners, this classic diamond shape is perfect for your vintage-style engagement ring.

Buying Suggestion: Cushion-cuts appears slightly smaller than other diamond shapes, so you may want to set it in a halo for the illusion of a larger stone, or choose a slightly larger diamond.

Shop Cushion-Cut Vintage-Style Engagement Rings

ASSCHER-CUT ENGAGEMENT RINGS

Asscher-cut diamonds are very similar to emerald-cuts, but are square in shape. Like the emerald-cut, their mesmerizing Hall of Mirrors effect will draw the eyes in. Perfect for an Art Deco inspired engagement ring.

Buying Suggestion: Like the emerald-cut, Asscher-cut diamonds don’t sparkle very much. Consider setting your diamond in a sidestone or halo setting for extra sparkle.

Shop Vintage-Style Asscher-Cut Diamond Engagement Rings

MARQUISE-CUT ENGAGEMENT RINGS

The marquise-cut diamond dates back to the 18^th century. This bold diamond shape has the largest surface area, so it will appear larger than other diamond shapes of the same carat weight.

Buying Suggestion: Choose a setting with V-shaped prongs at the points of the diamond for maximum protection.

Shop Marquise-Cut Vintage-Style Engagement Rings

PEAR-CUT ENGAGEMENT RINGS

Also known as the teardrop shape, the pear-cut was created in the 1400s, making it perfect for a vintage-style or antique-inspired engagement ring. This shape is known to flatter the finger with its pointed, elongated shape.

Buying Suggestion: Not all pear-cut diamonds look the same - research length-to-width ratios for pear-cut diamonds to purchase the most appealing one for you.

Ritani is proud to showcase a variety of affordable vintage-style engagement rings that are easily customizable. Our vintage-style ring settings are available in rose gold, white gold, yellow gold, and platinum. These imaginative engagement rings can be bold and beautiful or petite and sophisticated, depending on your preference. Simply choose your diamond and setting of choice to create an affordable vintage-style engagement ring.

Can I Find Vintage Style Engagement Rings Cheap?

While vintage-style engagement rings are often opulent and therefore more pricey, they can still be purchased to suit your budget needs. Consider a lab-grown diamond for your center stone to save hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Contact us today and we will be more than happy to offer assistance in finding your dream vintage style engagement ring that is tailored toward your budget and style expectations.

Next Up: The History of Rose Gold