Expressive “Retro Style” Ring with Diamonds in Gold, Germany, c. 1950

This ring, crafted from slightly reddish gold, is designed in the form of a graphically abstracted bow. The ribbon of the bow lies across the finger and is interspersed with geometric, serrated joints. A shiny white band, set with diamonds in square platinum settings, holds the ribbon-like bands together in the center. The delight in geometry that characterizes the ring’s design harks back to the dynamic Art Deco era. Since the early 1920s, designers throughout Europe had repeatedly and enthusiastically ventured into the play of clear geometries in order to move beyond the delicacy of Art Nouveau. While the earliest designs were mostly delicate and white—with a cool, luminous sheen of platinum and diamonds—fashion shifted around 1930 toward yellow gold pieces with a more expansive presence. In English-speaking countries, a more precise distinction is made between Art Deco (the ethereal, white pieces of jewellery from the early phase) and so-called “retro jewellery”—that is, the sculptural designs of the period beginning in 1930. Rings like this one came into fashion in the late 1930s, but the use of brilliant-cut diamonds suggests that this ring was made somewhat later, around 1950. It found its way to us from Cologne.

Estimate:£1,430.36

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