Victorian time was reach for styles in fashions and jewelry and this lens is about styles in Victorian rings.
Introduction
Victorian style rings were made in the late half of the nineteenth century, and the designs show the great optimism, change and romanticism of that time. There are several different styles that stand out as indicative of that era - dearest rings, regard rings, snake rings, half hoop rings, and dainty, romantic engagement rings. Oh My Dear
Dearest and regard rings were very popular Victorian style rings. They are considered to be romantic or sentimental. The first letter of the names of the coloured stones around the rings spelled out the words "regard" or "dearest". For example, a dearest ring could have the stones diamond, emerald, amethyst, ruby, emerald, sapphire and topaz, in that order. Rings could also be made to spell the first name of the wearer. Snake Rings
Another popular Victorian style ring was the snake ring. This ring had snakes wrapped around the band so that the two heads were showing, and they were said to represent eternity, with the two snake heads representing the bride and the groom. There were often diamonds, rubies or sapphires on the snakes eyes or heads. Half Hoop Rings
Half hoop rings containing three or five stones were also considered to be fashionable Victorian style rings. In the latter half of the Victorian era they contained diamonds; prior to that they mostly displayed coloured stones. This is due to the fact that early in the Victorian era, diamonds were very scarce, expensive and rarely used. Once the South African diamond mines opened up in the 1870s, diamonds became plentiful and affordable. The rings were made with small setting edges and open backs to better display the stones. These were often given as engagement rings. Victorian Engagement Rings
Last in our list is the Victorian style engagement ring. They tended to be dainty and feminine. Usually made in yellow or rose gold, they often had coloured stones as opposed to diamonds due to the scarcity of diamonds in the first part of the Victorian era. Instead of one large central stone, these rings often had clusters of small diamonds or coloured stones. After the 1870s, a larger diamond became the ultimate way of saying "will you marry me?" More Victorian Jewelry Lenses
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- Gemfind Gemfind Nov 18, 2008 @ 1:01 am
- Excellent and beautiful rings.
by MKerogazov
Hello world. I'm a software developer and an apprentice affiliate marketeer. (more)
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