10 different types of vintage ring

I’ve just been adding vintage rings into my webshop and it struck me what a wide variety of rings there are available. Here is my guide to ten different types of ring

1. Signet ring.  These started out in ancient times as seal engraved rings which could be used to seal or authenticate paperwork. They have a wide flat surface which is intaglio engraved with the design of the wearers choice. The rings can be made of pure gold or the seal ends set with a semi-precious hardstone. When collecting signet rings it is the quality of the carving and the design which makes the ring desirable or not.

signet ring

2. Wedding ring. Betrothal rings exchanged on marriage. These are usually high carat gold and usually a plain band of gold although some Victorian examples are gem set. There was an act of parliament in 1738 which required that wedding rings are hallmarked and this means that most wedding rings can be easily dated. You can often find wedding rings with engravings on the inside -expressing the love between the couple.

3. Engagement ring  Exchanged upon promise of marriage. Engagement rings are often the single most expensive piece of jewellery a woman will ever own.. It is quite usual for these to have just one single stone – a diamond and as large as possible please.

4. Eternity ring The Eternity ring completes the set of three rings given by a man to his wife – eternity rings are often given ( but not exclusively) in the birth of  the first child.

5. Sentimental and freindship ring The designs on friendship and sentimental rings include symbols or hidden meanings to indicate the bond between the two friends. One example is the REGARD ring which is set with 6 gemstones each initial of which spells the word REGARD ( Ruby, Emerald, Garnet,Amethyst, Ruby, Diamond). There are other words which can be spelt out in stones such as SOUVENIER,  AMORE and DEAREST.  Friendship rings often depict two clasped hands which may hold flowers or hearts – the traditional Claddagh or Fede ( Italian for trust) rings. A ring incorporating a horse shoe would be given as a good luck token( Please wear with the opening pointing up for good luck rather than bad.

6. Art deco ringsYou can still find genuine art deco rings with wonderful art deco styling if you look around. These are often in the bold art deco colours of black, white, red, Green and blue. Good diamond and emerald examples are very expensive but look for very stylish silver rings set with marcasites for a genuine piece of period style at a bargain price.

7. Arts and crafts ring  The arts and crafts ring was simple in style and shape but often had great workmanship , You can find lovely silver rings set with a moonstone cabochon or how about one with a small Ruskin type ceramic stone?

8. Art Nouveau ring Not easily found these days but original art nouveau rings are rather wonderful – Similar to art nouveau pendants they can be found with enamelling in Peacock colours on a silver base.

9. Cocktail ring / Dress Ring The cocktail or dress ring is a showy gemset ring designed for party or other formal occasions. The theme is big and bold  – this can either be one large gem or lots of smaller ones . They can be all one colour or have several colours fitted into one ring. The cocktail ring really started with the cocktail era in circa 1940s however smaller less showy gemset rings have always been popular.

cocktail ring

10 Modern ring Modern and contemporary rings are made in all sorts of amazing shapes and designs.  Look out for rings made by names craftsmen jewellers: Andrew Grima from the 1960s / 1970s ( and also Stuart Devlin from that era). The Scandinavian silversmiths make some wonderful designs (George Jensen or David Andersen are highly regarded). To bring the ring makers right up to date also see Wendy Ramshaw, JEG Defner, Gerda Flockinger)

What ever type of vintage ring you choose to collect do take care that they are in good condition and they do not need much in the way of re-sizing for you to wear as that may be difficult and expensive.