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Barnebys HQ
Brahegatan 10
BOX 5038
114 37 Stockholm
All auctions / Jewellery & Gems / Elegant Retro Style Ring with Fine Burma Rubies & Diamonds, c. 1940s
From the late 1930s onwards, the Parisian jewelry houses initially developed a variation of Art Deco, which we know today as the "retro style". Its warm gold tones and expansive geometric shapes set it apart from the cool, flat designs in diamond-studded platinum that had characterized the previous decade. This new style soon spread throughout the western world; film stars such as Marlene Dietrich with her legendary ruby bracelet made it famous worldwide. The reason for such a radical change in style was not just a desire for change. Platinum, for example, was no longer available to goldsmiths in sufficient quantities at the beginning of the world war, which is why the change of material to gold was not only voluntary. The trade routes for the supply of precious gemstones were also interrupted due to the war, which is why they had to rely on existing gemstones during these years. This gives the pieces of jewelry from the 1940s a particularly unique character. The goldsmiths of the late 1930s and 1940s excelled at making a virtue out of necessity! This ring with three large diamonds and six fine rubies from Burma is a representative of this fashion. The diamonds, with a total weight of around 1.35 ct, are set in platinum chatons and their cuts are significantly older than the ring itself. They presumably come from an older piece of jewelry and, like the fine Burmese rubies, have been reused. These flank the diamonds on both sides of the rectangular ring face. The ring is in very good condition and is a picture-book example of a retro-style jewel. For more on rings from the 1940s and further illustrations, see David Bennett and Daniela Mascetti: Understanding Jewellery, Woodbridge 2010, p. 400 f.
Estimate:£2,794.62
To the auctionView all items fromHofer AntikschmuckorJewellery & Gems
Estimate:
£2,794.62
OCT 17 | 10:00 PM
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