French Huge platinum engagement ring with even huger Verneuil Alexandrite

Not only a huge stone (17.25 carats) but a huge stone with a real cute phenomenon... it changes color depending on the light source it is exposed to like natural day-light, candle-light or neon-light. It changes from something between reddish purple to a blueish violet. See also the pictures, for every position of the ring we made two pictures, exposing it to another light source.

Antique jewelry object group: engagement ring

Country of origin: France

Style: Fifties (of the twentieth century)
See also: Fifties (of the twentieth century) or more info on styles

Period: ca. 1950
(events and facts in 1950)

Material: platinum
(more info on precious metals)

Extra information: Betrothal rings were used during Roman times, but weren't generally revived in the Western world until the 13th century. The first well-documented use of a diamond ring to signify engagement was by the Archduke Maximilian of Austria in imperial court of Vienna in 1477, upon his betrothal to Mary of Burgundy.

Before the 20th century, other types of betrothal gifts were common. Before the end of the 19th century, the bride-to-be frequently received a sewing thimble rather than a engagement ring. This practice was particularly common among religious groups that shunned jewelry. Engagement rings didn't become standard in the West until the end of the 19th century, and diamond rings didn't become common until the 1930s. Now, 80% of the women are offered a diamond ring to signify engagement. (from: Wikipedia)

Alexandrite (Verneuil) - The center stone in this ring is a Verneuil corundum with alexandrite characteristics. Natural alexandrite is a variety of chrysoberyl. Due to the presence of oxide of chromium, it appears dull grass-green by daylight (which is rich in blue rays), but by electric light it appears yellowish or reddish-yellow, and by soft candle-light (which is rich in red rays) it appears reddish. It is highly dichroic. Its original source was near Ekaterinburg, in the Ural Mountains of Russia. In the Forties, Fifties and Sixties of the 20th century jewellers made a lot of use of man-made stones in various colors. The stone in this ring, as most of the big stones used in jewelry in that period, is a corundum (like ruby and sapphire) and a was made using the Verneuil technique. Its color changing characteristics are clearly visible on the two pictures we took using two different type of light sources.


Precious stones: synthetic alexandrite weighing a stunning 17.25 carats!
(more info on precious stones)

Hallmarks: The French control mark for platinum representing a dog's head that was in use in France from about 1912.
(more info on hallmarks)

Condition: excellent condition
(more info on our condition scale)

Dimensions: diameter of stone 1.62 cm (0.64 inch)

Weight: 8.80 gram (5.66 dwt)

Ring size Continental: 54 & 17¼ , Size US 6¾ , Size UK: N
Resizing: It is our pleasure to resize the ring for you (if needed) at our expense. Only for extreme resizing we have to charge. - (list ring sizes)

Reference Nº: 09133-4283

Copyright photography: Adin, fine antique jewelry

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