Edwardian Engagement Rings: A Buyer’s Guide

If one era defines the antique engagement ring, it is the Edwardian. Delicate, feminine and made in platinum with an almost impossible lightness, Edwardian rings are the rings most people picture when they imagine something antique and romantic. They are also, for many of our clients, the perfect balance of beauty, wearability and value. Here is our guide to choosing one.

The Edwardian era

Strictly, the Edwardian period runs from 1901 to 1910, the reign of Edward VII, but in jewellery the style stretches from the 1890s to the First World War. It was the golden age of high society, of Paris’s Belle Époque, of country house weekends and great balls, and the jewellery is full of that elegance. Its style was set by Queen Alexandra, whose love of pearls, diamonds and high “dog collar” necklaces was copied across Europe. Our guide to Edwardian jewellery tells the wider story.

Queen Alexandra in her coronation robes, 1902. Her love of pearls and diamonds set the fashion of the age. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Platinum and the white-on-white look

The Edwardian revolution was platinum. Strong enough to hold diamonds in the finest of claws and pierced galleries, it let jewellers create designs of lace-like delicacy that would have been impossible in gold or silver. Diamonds set in platinum look whiter and brighter, and the favourite look of the period was white on white: diamonds and pearls in platinum, sometimes with a single coloured stone. Many rings are made with a platinum top on an 18ct gold shank, so they look white from above and warm on the hand. Read more in our guide to platinum in antique jewellery.

Portrait of Countess Zichy by Giovanni Boldini, 1905 — Giovanni Boldini, Portrait of Countess Zichy, 1905: the glamour of the Belle Époque. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The classic Edwardian ring styles

The cluster. The most loved of all: a centre stone ringed by smaller diamonds, often oval or flower-shaped, and often around a sapphire, ruby or emerald.

The three-stone and five-stone. Diamonds or alternating coloured stones set in a row, often in a carved half hoop.

The crossover. Two stones set side by side on a twisting shank, the forerunner of today’s toi et moi.

The boat-shaped ring. A long, navette-shaped head paved with diamonds and coloured stones, perfect for slender fingers, like this Edwardian boat-shaped ring with rubies and diamonds.

The solitaire. A single diamond or sapphire, often with diamond-set shoulders and a pierced gallery.

Browse our Edwardian engagement rings to see every style.

Edwardian engagement rings from our collection. See more

Edwardian rings have a lightness nobody has matched since. Hold one up to the light and you can see straight through the setting. It’s jewellery made like lace.
Olly Gerrish, AJC Founder

Diamonds and coloured stones

Edwardian diamonds are usually old European or old mine cuts, cut by hand to give a soft, lively sparkle, with small rose-cut diamonds and millegrain edges adding texture. Sapphires were especially fashionable, from Ceylon, Burma and the newly discovered Kashmir mines, and rubies, emeralds, pearls and opals all appear, often set within a frame of diamonds. Our guides to antique diamond cuts and antique sapphire engagement rings explain more.

Edwardian 18ct Gold, Three Stone Cabochon Opal & Diamond Ring

Millegrain, galleries and knife-edge shanks

The details are what make an Edwardian ring. Look for millegrain, the line of tiny beads around a setting; pierced galleries, the openwork beneath the stones; and slender knife-edge shanks, which narrow to a ridge on top. All were done by hand, and they give Edwardian rings their airy, refined character.

Mrs George Cornwallis-West, formerly Lady Randolph Churchill, in the jewels of Edwardian society. Library of Congress. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sizing, wear and care

Most Edwardian rings can be resized, and platinum is very hard-wearing, but the fine claws and millegrain that make them so beautiful do wear over a century, so have your ring checked every year or two. Slender knife-edge shanks can be strengthened if needed. Clean gently with warm soapy water and a soft brush, and avoid ultrasonic cleaners if your ring has pearls, opals or emeralds.

What we look for

When we choose an Edwardian engagement ring, we look for crisp, delicate workmanship, well-matched old cut diamonds with life in them, claws and millegrain in good condition, and above all a ring that feels light and graceful on the hand. You can see some of our favourites below, and many more in the shop.

If you want a ring that feels romantic but will still wear beautifully every day, I nearly always point people to the Edwardians. They got the balance just right.
Olly Gerrish, AJC Founder