Category: Articles

The diamond engagement ring originated in the Edwardian period. The designs of the era were light, lace like and used as many diamonds as possible. Women wore white as the color of choice and diamonds fit into color scheme perfectly. The pictures below should give you a feel of how light, airy and delicate the designs of that era can be.

Therefore, the ascetic/historical aspect is very positive. The era is viewed favorably if the popularity of Downtown Abbey is any indication.  The look is so different from the sleek and sculptured, minimalist look of today. The workmanship and detail of the Edwardian era cannot be duplicated today at a an affordable price. Finally, as a testament to a sense of style and sophistication, an Edwardian piece can be the perfect accessory to the look you are seeking for that special occasion.

Evaluation of the monetary dimension to Edwardian jewelry (or any antique jewelry) is  composed of three parts, the precious metal (platinum, gold or silver) the gemstones, and the labor. In the specific case of Edwardian jewelry, I will focus on the pieces that used platinum and diamonds.

In 1751 platinum was defined as a precious metal. Besides platinum’s high melting point, it never tarnishes and it is highly resistant to corrosion. As mentioned above, it was during the Edwardian period that the technology to mass produce platinum based jewelry and create new lighter designs became available. Historically, the price of platinum consistently exceeds the price of gold. The chart below shows how the price of platinum has changed over time .

http://www.macrotrends.net/2541/platinum-prices-vs-gold-prices

Platinum has, at the minimum, kept pace with the rate of inflation. Currently, platinum is trading at a spot price below gold: making the current (2017) platinum price historically low by comparison.

Now that we have addressed the value of the precious metal, let’s discuss the diamonds, The diamonds used during the Edwardian era are known as old mine cushion  or old European cut diamonds. At one time these diamonds were considered of lesser value than the diamonds of today. However, times have changed in a significant way.

The organizations which rate diamonds, GIA and EGL, rate old cut diamonds and new diamonds by same standards. This means that the old cut and new cut diamonds with the same ratings make them equally valuable. Previously, jewelers would recut the old mine stone to conform with today’s cutting standards, thereby reducing the value of the stone by 20-30%.

Today, old mine diamonds are in demand and many times they can command a premium price due to the rarity of old mine diamonds. Additionally, there are political issues surrounding newly mined diamonds. Therefore, the diamond component of Edwardian jewelry is holding it’s own as an investment vehicle. Now on to the labor portion of the analysis.

You will notice that one of the hallmarks of Edwardian style is the very light and delicate nature of the workmanship. The intricate designs using a very difficult to use metal is labor intensive and requires a very skilled craftsman. Craftsman of this caliber are very rare and this makes these pieces of jewelry virtually irreplaceable.

In total, then, Edwardian jewelry is not only beautiful, by today’s standards, but also has the potential to increase in value. A work of art with intrinsic value is a good investment.

Therefore, the answer to the question is: Edwardian jewelry is not only aesthetically attractive, historically significant and materially valuable, it’s becoming increasingly rare.

Within the context of this time period, which overlaps the later years of the Victorian era and the start of WWI, Edward, as crown prince and later as king, was known as the leader of a fashionable elite that set the style of the english speaking world. Below are some pictures which should give you a sense  of the style from that era.

As you can see from the pictures, there is a whimsical yet formal sense to how these people in the middle and upper classes saw themselves. The television series Downtown Abbey, provides a fictional version of that time period, but the show does give us an authentic feel for the era.

 

The jewelry from that era, of course, reflects the style and thinking of the time. Jewelry, as an art form, will always reflect or in many cases predict the sense of an era. This era in jewelry design and fabrication sees the first use of platinum as a popular metal for jewelry. Platinum, a much stronger metal than gold, allowed the jewelry designer to create more delicate and intricately designed pieces. Additionally, the diamond mines in South Africa were in full production which stimulated the extravagant use  of diamonds in jewelry design.

For most people there are two reasons to buy jewelry. Either you like it or you think it will become more valuable. So, whether buying jewelry as either an adornment or an investment it is necessary to establish the true value of a piece of antique jewelry.There are two components to establishing value that I will explore in this article.

If we break down the components of the value proposition into two parts, we reflect on the aesthetic/historical significance of a particular piece and the monetary value of the raw material used to create the piece. The first aspect I will discuss in this article is the aesthetic/historical contribution to the value.

The aesthetic/historical dimension includes establishing the relative rarity of the any piece from a particular era as well as the rarity of a specific piece from that era. Value is also established by noting how well respected or important a particular era is viewed by current collectors. It is also important to understand how well the designs of a particular era fit into the design thinking of current collectors.Edwardian jewelry, in the final analysis, was created over 100 years ago. Therefore, as times marches on, the rarity of the jewelry will increase as pieces are lost, destroyed, or disassembled: as the number of available pieces declines, the rarity factor increases and so will the price.

The character of an era and how that era is viewed in retrospect will impact the popularity and thus the price of jewelry from a specific time period. In order to get a sense of the people and develop some insight into the designs and materials they used to express themselves it is useful to explore the history of that era. So let’s step into the time machine and begin our voyage of discovery.

In the strictest sense, the Edwardian period of English history begins and ends with the reign of Edward the VII (1901-1910). Edward was heir to Queen Victoria, who died in 1901. Since, historical eras are rarely so precisely delineated, historians defined the Edwardian era from the 1890s to 1914: the start of the first world war. As an additional bit of information: the Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts movement are dated contemporaneous to the Edwardian period. These are topics for another blog.

The Edwardian style, commonly referred to as La Belle Epoch, reflected a glorification of the wealth and aristocratic lifestyle available to the upper and  middle classes made possible by the industrial age. The style was very French and continental. The rapid rise of the jewelry powerhouses Tiffany and Cartier were the outward manifestations of the Edwardian world view.

 

Samuel Hynes, a noted historian and author summed up the Edwardian ethos: “the Edwardian era was a leisurely time when women wore picture hats and did not vote, when the rich were not ashamed to live conspicuously, and the sun really never set on the British flag.'”