Affordable Antique and Vintage Diamond Jewellery

Strangely there is only one entry for AntiquesAvenue A-Z of  Vintage and Antique Jewellery materials. It seems that D has been reserved for possible the most sought after material of all Diamonds.

Being one of the most popular and expensive gemstones you can read all about diamonds all over the Internet but most  are promoting large and very expensive diamonds from several hundred pounds up to a few million for the very largest diamonds.  Look carefully and there is some super antique and vintage jewellery about set with smaller diamonds which can be found much more affordable prices. Changing from my normal format of discussing the material , Here is AntiquesAvenue’s guide to buying affordable Antique and Vintage diamond jewellery.

Diamond Locket

A little bit of Diamond Jewellery History

In ancient times all Diamonds came from India and this was the major source of diamonds until the 1720s when diamonds were found in Brazil followed by discoveries in South Africa in the 1860s.  All sorts of mystical and magical properties have been attributed to diamonds at different times including plague prevention. Diamonds being the hardest gemstone were difficult to cut and polish and so older diamonds are not as heavily faceted as they are today. Simpler cuts were used and looking at the way a diamond is cut can help tell us the earliest date that it could have been mounted and faceted. The Georgians tried several techniques to make diamonds appear whiter and more brilliant for example setting them into silver and giving them a white foil backing.  Of course as with much antique jewellery, diamonds can be re-worked at various stages in their lives so that an ancient diamond could have been re cut in the Victorian ear to bring the shape more up to date.  For example the Rose cut diamond popular in the 18th and 19th centuries appear quite grey next to a similar diamond which has been given a more modern cut such as the brilliant. 

Diamond and lapis ring

Affordable Antique diamond jewellery dating from before the late 1880s is not really available in any quantity as it is at that time when it when it became available to those with a little disposable income. Simple antique diamond jewellery set with small diamonds such as brooches, bangles and earrings started to be mass produced and it is these that we can now find affordable today. Look out for diamonds which are used as an accent to other stones as in this lapis ring. A sparkle of diamond can go a long was an smaller diamonds are relatively cheap in price.

Looking to but a genuine piece of antique jewellery set with diamonds? I suggest that you consider and antique brooch. Antique gold brooches from the Victorian and Edwardian eras and set with small diamonds can be bought for under £100. You may also be able to find a 9 carat gold ring with other gemstones and diamond points for around this sort of price too. I’ve just checked the antiquesavenue.co.uk website and I even have one antique stick pin with a real diamond point ( a tiny diamond) for £25, now that has got to be a bargain.

As the 20th century progressed diamond cutting was improved and new shapes were introduced. Just take a look at some expensive diamond jewellery from the art deco era to see the range of shapes and sizes available by that time. These include Baguettes and Marquise shapes.

The other technical innovation of the 20th century which improved diamond jewellery was the ability use Platinum to set the diamonds into giving a real white colour to show them off to their best advantage.

Looking for affordable vintage diamond jewellery? The best bargains to be had at the moment are in pieces of 9 carat jewellery from the second half of the last century. For example you can get rings set with smaller diamonds from about £50. I’ve just checked the antiquesavenue.co.uk website and see I have rings with diamonds in from £45 upwards.

If you want the look of diamond but cant afford a single large gem then I suggest taking a  look at jewellery with clusters of diamonds.  The reason is that several small diamonds adding up to one carat in diamond size will be the fraction of the cost of a one carat diamond.