Edwardian platinum and diamond marguerite ring, 1910

A glorious platinum and diamond ring. The large and delicate mount of flower design with refined pierced platinum lace.  Centering a 2.30 cushion-cut diamond. 1910 c.a.
Size 17 resizable

Elegante anello in platino a forma di fiore con al centro un diamante taglio antico a cuscino del peso di 2.30 carati circa. Il contorno di petali di brillanti ha un intricata cornice incisa. Italia, 1910 circa.
Misura 17, modificabile 

The Edwardian era, like the Georgian and Victorian,  derives its name from the reign of an English King, Edward VII (1901-1910). Jewelry was an important part of the lifestyle cultivated by this extremely wealthy upper class. To the rest of Europe, this period was called La Belle Époque. From 1880 Jewelry went from large and ostentatious to ethereal and delicate almost overnight, employing what was to become known as the “garland” style. jewelers who chose not to embrace Art nouveau or the Arts and Crafts movement borrowed the fluidity of their lines and incorporated them into more traditional motifs thereby creating Edwardian jewelry. The “new” designs of the Edwardian Era had their roots in eighteenth-century jewelry. Cartier encouraged his designers to wander the streets of Paris looking at seventeenth and eighteenth-century architecture for inspiration. Garlands and ribbons, laurel wreaths, bow knots, tassels, and lace were rendered with a new lightness thanks to the advances made in platinum fabrication. Early platinum work continued to be backed by  gold in the same manner as silver In 1903 the invention of the oxyacetylene torch, that could reach the temperatures necessary to work with platinum, allowed jewelry to be made solely from platinum. The strength of platinum was fully exploited and it became possible to create jewels that resembled “petit point” embroidery and fine, delicate, sophisticated jewels resembling diamond encrusted lace. This strength and rigidity allowed the jeweler to mount stones in minimalist settings. Millegraining, is featured often on Edwardian jewelry. Its border of delicate small balls and ridges surrounding a gemstone served to give jewelry a softer, lighter look.