Which period do most of these rings come from?

The interwar decades carry the category. 413 listings are filed to the 1930s and 372 to the 1920s, and "art deco" appears in 836 titles. The dated field runs from 1800 to 1960, with 1,372 listings carrying a clean year. The 1950s, 1940s and 1910s each sit above a hundred, and the 1890s only sixteen.

What does old cut mean on a diamond ring?

It's a hand-finished cut from before modern brilliant work, and the phrase "cut diamond" runs through 937 titles. Within it, old European means a round stone with a small table and high crown, old mine an earlier cushion shape, and rose cut a flat-backed faceted dome. Transitional sits between old European and modern brilliant, and clusters in the 1940s and 1950s listings.

Are carat weights usually given?

More often than in most jewellery. 895 titles, about half, quote a carat figure outright, and the recorded range runs from 0.10ct up past four carats. Ring size is a different matter: "size" appears in just 43 titles.

Do coloured stones appear in engagement rings?

Around a fifth of titles name one. Sapphire leads with 237, then ruby at 93, emerald 82, pearl 36 and opal 31, most often paired with diamonds. Odder things surface occasionally: tanzanite, moonstone, high zircon, star sapphire, padparadscha, tourmaline and an aquamarine cocktail ring.

What metals were used for the mounts?

18ct gold in 497 titles and platinum in 336. A further group names both, which describes a gold shank with a platinum-set head. 9ct and 14ct turn up too, 9ct mainly at the lower end of the range.

How many of these come up for sale?

Forty-seven dealers have listed in the category on Sellingantiques, across 1,730 recorded listings. That works out at roughly 179 rings coming to market a year.

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Antique Engagement Rings

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Second-hand and antique finger rings sold to mark a betrothal, nearly all of them diamond-set, and most often a single old-cut stone raised in gold or platinum.