Jewelry Guide

Ring Details to Know

Look for these details when you shop for a vintage ring.

Filigree. Fine metal wire shaped into lace-like patterns. It was popular in Edwardian rings.
Milgrain. A row of tiny metal beads along an edge. It is common in Edwardian and Art Deco rings.
Old mine cut. A square or cushion-shaped diamond with a small flat top and a tall upper part. It was used in Georgian and early to mid-Victorian rings.
Old European cut. A round diamond with a very small flat top and a tall upper part. It is found in late Victorian, Edwardian, and Art Deco rings.
East-west setting. The center stone sits sideways across the finger instead of pointing toward the fingertip. It works best with long shapes like oval, emerald, and marquise.
Lab-grown vs. earth-mined gems. Earth-mined, or natural, gems formed deep in the earth, some over billions of years. Lab-grown gems are made in a lab, often in a few weeks. A lab-grown diamond is a real diamond with essentially the same chemistry, hardness, and sparkle as a mined one. Only a gem lab with special tools can reliably tell them apart. Other gems, such as rubies and sapphires, can also be lab-created. Federal Trade Commission guidelines say sellers should clearly label these stones with words like “lab-grown” or “lab-created.” Prices can differ a lot between lab-grown and mined stones.
Cubic zirconia (CZ). A man-made stone that looks like a diamond but is a different material, so it is called a diamond simulant. It is softer than diamond, about 8 to 8.5 on the 10-point Mohs hardness scale, so it scratches and wears faster. It also shows more rainbow flashes and weighs more than a diamond of the same size. CZ was first sold for jewelry in 1976, so a CZ in an older ring was added later.
Moissanite. A gem made of silicon carbide, a mix of silicon and carbon. French chemist Henri Moissan first found it in 1893 in a meteorite crater in Arizona. Natural moissanite is very rare, so the moissanite in jewelry is made in a lab. It went on sale as a diamond alternative in 1998. It is very hard, at 9.25 on the Mohs scale, and gives off more rainbow sparkle than a diamond. It is not a diamond, but it can fool some basic diamond testers.

Learning Your Gemstone Style

A gem’s cut is the shape and pattern of its facets, the small flat faces polished onto the stone. The cut changes how a gem sparkles and how it looks on your hand. Start by noticing which shapes you keep coming back to. Then use this guide to find ring settings that suit them.

Brilliant cuts. Many small, angled facets bounce light around for lots of sparkle. Round, oval, cushion, princess, radiant, pear, marquise, and heart stones are usually brilliant cut.
Step cuts. Long, flat facets sit in rows like stairs. They give broad flashes of light, often called a “hall of mirrors” look. They also show more of the stone’s inside, so flaws are easier to see. Emerald and Asscher cuts are step cuts.
Cabochons. These are smooth, polished domes with no facets. Opal, turquoise, and moonstone are often cut this way. Star sapphires and star rubies need a dome to show their star.

Ask yourself a few questions to narrow down your style.

Do you love sparkle? Look at brilliant cuts. The round cut has the most brightness of all.
Do you like clean lines and an Art Deco look? Look at emerald and Asscher step cuts.
Want the stone to look bigger? Long shapes like oval, pear, and marquise can look larger than a round stone of the same weight. An oval can also make fingers look slimmer.
Do you use your hands a lot? Shapes with points or sharp corners, like princess, pear, marquise, and heart, can chip at those spots. Round, oval, and cushion shapes have no points.

Here is how each cut pairs with ring settings.

Round. A timeless classic. It works in a simple solitaire or a more detailed design.
Oval. Round-style sparkle in a longer, graceful shape. It suits both vintage and modern settings.
Cushion. A square or rectangle with soft, rounded corners and a vintage feel. It fits antique-style rings and modern halos.
Princess. A square with sharp corners and a modern look. Choose V-shaped prongs, split prongs with two at each corner, or a bezel to keep the corners from chipping.
Radiant. Brilliant sparkle with the clean lines of a square or rectangle. It works as a solitaire or with a halo, and its trimmed corners help prevent chips.
Emerald. A long step-cut rectangle that looks sleek and refined. It suits simple, Art Deco, and vintage-inspired settings. Choose a higher clarity grade, since flaws are easier to see.
Asscher. A square step cut with an Art Deco feel. Many show an “X” pattern when you look down at them. It works in a solitaire, halo, or antique-style setting.
Pear. A teardrop shape that adds drama and length. Its point needs secure prongs or a bezel. You can wear it point up, point down, or at an angle.
Marquise. A long shape with two points that can look larger than other shapes of the same weight. Use prongs or V-shaped guards at each end. A halo softens the points, and an east-west setting gives it a modern look.
Heart. A romantic shape. Prongs should guard the point and sit on the rounded tops, not in the dip between them. It looks best at half a carat or larger.
Cabochon. A smooth dome that shows off color and special effects. It can sit in a bezel or in prongs. A bezel, a metal rim around the stone, is the safest way to hold it.