Fine Platinum Jewellery
Fine platinum jewellery brings together enduring white metal and brilliant stones across Edwardian, Art Deco and mid-century periods.
Fine Platinum Jewellery
Fine platinum jewellery spans rings, necklaces, earrings, brooches and bracelets created across the twentieth century. The search phrase covers delicate Edwardian garlands, geometric Art Deco pieces and bolder mid-century designs.
Most examples met here date from the Edwardian era through to the nineteen-sixties, incorporating diamonds alongside coloured gems like sapphires, aquamarines and emeralds.
Materials and construction
Platinum provides a strong, naturally white setting that holds intricate pierced work and secure claw settings without adding excessive weight. This metal allows for fine wirework and millegrain edges that would bend in softer gold.
Gems are selected for their cut and clarity, paired directly with the platinum or mounted alongside components of eighteen-carat yellow or white gold, particularly in earlier periods.
Listings feature platinum paired with diamonds, sapphires, aquamarines, emeralds, pearls and gold across periods from nineteen hundred to nineteen sixty.
Factors in evaluation
Quality rests on the precision of the metalwork, the condition of the stone settings and the integrity of any delicate pierced or millegrain details. Heavier weights in bracelets and rings indicate robust construction.
The choice and match of central stones, such as certified emeralds, sapphires or old cut diamonds, heavily influence the character and status of each piece.
Le Vian
The Fine Platinum Jewellery Glossary
- Millegrain
- A decorative technique featuring a row of tiny raised metal beads along the edges of a setting.
- Old cut
- A diamond facet arrangement typical of antique pieces predating modern brilliant cuts, featuring smaller tables and high crowns.
- Cluster
- A stone arrangement where a central gem is surrounded by a border of smaller stones, often diamonds.
- Wishbone
- A curved ring shape resembling a lucky symbol, frequently set with diamonds as a half eternity band.
Fine Platinum Jewellery: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I care for platinum jewellery?
Platinum is durable and resists tarnish, needing only warm soapy water and a soft brush to clean away daily oils.
Store pieces individually in soft pouches to prevent stones from scratching each other when not being worn.
Are these pieces suitable for daily wear?
The natural strength of platinum makes these rings and bracelets robust enough for regular use over many decades.
Items with delicate seed pearls or high-setting Edwardian prongs benefit from occasional checks by a specialist to ensure stones remain secure.
How can I tell an Edwardian piece from Art Deco?
Edwardian designs rely on lace-like platinum work, garlands and natural pearls, often combining the white metal with yellow gold backs.
Art Deco items shift toward bold geometric symmetry, calibré-cut coloured stones and sharp linear patterns characteristic of the nineteen-twenties and thirties.
Why is platinum often mixed with gold in older items?
Early twentieth-century jewellers sometimes utilised platinum for the top viewable surface to showcase white diamonds, while using gold for inner bands or pins.
This technique provided the desired bright white backdrop for stones while maintaining structural familiarity and traditional manufacturing methods.