Unusual Art Deco Ring with Old Cut Diamonds and Two Baby Teeth, c. 1920

A peculiar Art Deco ring from the 1920s, this jewel combines two old cut diamonds with rose cut diamonds in a bold geometric design. Most touching of all, however, are the two preserved milk teeth, transforming the ring into a deeply personal keepsake in which motherly love is made tangible and preserved as a lasting remembrance.

Jewellery Type
ring

Condition
very good condition
more info on our condition scale

Country of origin
unknown

Style
Art Deco - Art Deco is an eclectic artistic and design style which had its origins in Paris in the first decades of the 20th century. The style originated in the 1920s and continued to be employed until after World War II. The term "art deco" first saw wide use after an exhibition in 1966, referring to the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes that was the culmination of high-end style modern in Paris. Led by the best designers in the decorative arts such as fashion, and interior design, Art Deco affected all areas of design throughout the 1920s and 1930s, including architecture and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as painting, the graphic arts and film. At the time, this style was seen as elegant, glamorous, functional and modern.
See also: Art Deco
more info on styles

Style specifics
Abstract motives and geometrical forms are quite typical for the Art Deco period. Art Deco moved away from the soft pastels and organic forms of its style predecessor, Art Nouveau, and embraced influences from many different styles and movements of the early 20th century, including Neoclassical, Constructivism, Cubism, Modernism, and Futurism. Its popularity peaked in Europe during the Roaring Twenties and continued strongly in the United States through the 1930s. Although many design movements have political or philosophical roots or intentions, Art Deco was purely decorative.

Period
ca. 1920
Events & facts of this era, poetry of this era, fashion of this era.

Material 18K
yellow and white gold or platinum (touchstone tested)
more info on precious metals

Diamonds
Two old brilliant cut diamonds with an approximate total weight of 0.50ct colour and clarity J/K, vvs/si
39 rose cut diamonds and senailles . A senaille is a simplified rose cut diamond, a small diamond chip with perhaps a few polished facets. We do not have the weight of the rose cuts diamonds nor the senailles which is normal in our trade when it comes to rose cut diamonds and senailles.

- Any diamond weights, colour grades, and clarity stated are approximate unless otherwise noted, as diamonds are not removed from their settings in order to preserve the integrity of the piece.

- All diamonds in our antique and vintage jewellery, regardless of size or shape, are verified by the IJGC laboratory as natural.

"Precious stones"
Two children's milk teeth, probably among the first to be shed, preserved as a lasting keepsake.

Birthstones
Diamond is the birthstone (or month stone) for April.
more info on birthstones

More background information on tooth jewellery
The practice seems to belong to a broader and much older tradition in which children’s first teeth were treated as meaningful objects, while their preservation as personal keepsakes is especially well documented in the nineteenth century. There are even sources that explicitly note that such milk tooth rings were made to commemorate the loss of a first tooth, and it is also recorded that Queen Victoria had a brooch made from the first milk tooth of her eldest daughter.

Hallmarks
No trace.
more info on hallmarks

Dimensions
band width top of ring 1,46 cm (0,57 inch)
see picture with a ruler in millimeters and inches

Weight
4,70 gram (3,02 dwt)

Ring size Continental EU: 57 & 18¼ , Size USA: 8 , Size UK: P½

Resizing
Free resizing (only for extreme resizing we have to charge).
more info on ring sizes

Adin Reference Nº
26089-0332

Copyright photography
Adin, fine antique jewellery

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