Types of vintage rings explained

One stone, one setting, nothing competing with it. The stone sits in a head of claws, a bezel or a rubover collet, usually raised so light can enter from the sides. In antique rings the head is often a separate piece of platinum soldered onto a gold shank, which is one of the quiet ways you date a ring.

A solitaire flatters a stone with good life and hides nothing. If a center stone has an unusual outline, as old mine and old European cuts often do, a solitaire is the setting that lets that outline show.

A cluster gathers several stones into a single head so they read as one larger jewel. Georgian and Victorian clusters were designed this way for a practical reason: small stones were far easier to come by than one large one, and a cluster gives width and sparkle for a fraction of the cost.

A halo is a specific kind of cluster: one clear center stone with a continuous frame of smaller stones around it. The Edwardian and Art Deco versions tend to use fine millegrain and a low profile. Modern halos are usually higher and heavier, which is often the tell.

A cocktail ring is a large, deliberately decorative ring worn for effect rather than as a symbol. The name belongs to the 1920s onward, and the Retro years of the 1940s made the type famous with big citrines, aquamarines and scrolled rose gold.

Judge a cocktail ring on presence and construction rather than on carat weight. The good ones are engineered: hollowed backs to keep weight down, articulated shoulders, and stones chosen to work as a composition.

An eternity ring carries stones all the way around the shank; a half eternity carries them across the top only. Half eternities are far easier to live with, because they can be resized and because the plain back of the band takes the wear.

Related band types you will meet in vintage descriptions include the wedding band, the keeper or guard ring, the chunky wide band, and the carved or engraved band. None of these is a period marker on its own.

French for "you and me": two stones set side by side on a crossover shank, often of different cuts or different colors. The type has been made since the eighteenth century and it is one of the oldest ways to say something about two people with one ring.

Toi et moi rings suit anyone who wants an engagement ring that does not look like an engagement ring, and they wear beautifully next to a plain band because the crossover leaves a natural gap.

A signet is a gold ring with a flat or slightly domed face, historically engraved with a crest, monogram or seal. It has no stone, or sometimes a single flat stone such as bloodstone, onyx or carnelian used as the seal face.

Signets are the most-worn vintage rings we sell, on every kind of hand. If a face has been engraved with someone else's monogram, a goldsmith can usually remove it, but only if the face is thick enough. Ask before you buy, because a thin, dished face has already been re-engraved once.