Three old European cut diamonds across the top.
Four more tucked underneath.
Apparently restraint was not part of the design brief.
Dating to approximately the 1920s, this beautifully constructed platinum three-stone diamond ring carries the delicacy and refinement of Edwardian design into the early Art Deco period.
At its center is an approximately 0.51 carat natural old European cut diamond, bead set between two matching old European cut diamonds with a combined estimated weight of approximately 0.82 carat.
Together, the three principal diamonds total approximately 1.33 carats.
But the jeweler did not stop there.
Turn the ring to the side and the pierced platinum under gallery reveals four additional matching old European cut natural diamonds, bead set beneath the principal stones and weighing approximately 0.16 carat total.
That brings the ring’s estimated total diamond weight to approximately 1.49 carats.
The under gallery is further embellished with beautifully executed bright-cut acanthus leaf motifs that continue onto the shoulders, giving the platinum mounting an airy, almost lace-like quality.
This is exactly the sort of detail that makes early 20th-century platinum jewelry so irresistible.
The ring was not simply designed to look beautiful from directly above.
It was designed in three dimensions.
The pierced filigree, engraved foliage, seven old European cut diamonds and open architecture make the mounting almost as interesting from the side as it is from the top.
The ring finishes with a traditional half-round platinum shank with a bright polished surface, allowing all of that intricate workmanship to transition quietly into something wonderfully simple around the finger.
And then there are those diamonds.
Old European cuts have a personality very different from today’s precisely standardized round brilliant diamonds. Their typically smaller tables, higher crowns, deeper proportions and broader facets create larger, slower flashes of light — the wonderfully romantic sparkle associated with antique diamond jewelry.
The approximately 0.51 carat center diamond is estimated at M color and VS2/SI1 clarity.
The two principal matching side diamonds total approximately 0.82 carat and are estimated at J/K color and VS2/SI1 clarity.
The four matching diamonds in the under gallery total approximately 0.16 carat and are estimated at I/J color and VS2/SI1 clarity.
We rather like the subtle variation in color.
Against cool white platinum, these antique diamonds produce that unmistakable old-world glow — less laboratory-perfect, more candlelight-at-midnight.
Elegant.
Architectural.
A little botanical.
And approximately a century later, still exceptionally pretty.