Engagement rings through the decades
1900’s – 1910’s: In the early Edwardian era, jewellery was a status symbol for the upper class only. Taking inspiration from the delicate and floral motifs of the 1800’s, Edwardian jewellery was a testament to its exquisite craftsmanship. Platinum and diamond was the most popular choice for engagement rings due to their luxurious nature. An Edwardian engagement ring was not just a display of the lavish materials available to the wealthy, but a show of the expertise of their chosen jeweller.
1920’s: Crowned as the ‘Jazz Age’, the 1920’s quickly evolved engagement rings styles with its art deco and art nouveau influence. Bold geometric shapes combined with floral designs, still popular from the Edwardian era, created a new style of engagement ring. Platinum and diamond were still the popular choice for those of higher status. However, gemstones were often used to create a more striking design.
1930’s: The 1930’s saw the continuation of the art deco movement. The engagement rings of this time were centred around geometric shape gemstones, milgrain detail and bold colours. Platinum was still the most popular metal with white gold being a popular alternative. For many rings, the elaborate design of the setting was prioritised over the quality of the stones. During this time, jewellers also experimented with semi-precious gemstones such as onyx, aquamarine and amber.
1940’s: Due to the impact of world war II, precious metals were a scarce material. The trend in this time period became ‘doing more with less’. In the jewellery industry, this translated into the use of semi-precious materials with beautifully intricate detail to compensate. An example of this is illusion settings, where metal is shaped to exaggerate size or imitate the sparkle of smaller diamonds. These techniques are still widely used today. It was also very fashionable to add flowers, bows or hearts to emulate the romantic meaning behind an engagement ring.
1950’s: The 1950’s saw a boom in larger stones. De Beer’s 1948 ‘A diamond is forever’ campaign (previously discussed in our The History of Diamonds blog post) is thought to have caused the meteoric rise in diamond engagement rings. Diamonds became the preference over other gemstones and larger centre stones took over the delicate illusion settings favoured by the 1940’s. Famous women of the 1950’s cemented diamond engagement rings as the ultimate symbol of glamour and wealth. A great example is Elizabeth Taylor’s engagement ring from Mike Todd (featured in our blog post Elizabeth Taylor’s Iconic Jewellery Collection)
1960’s: The 1960’s shifted even further from elaborate designs and continued the trend of larger diamond centre pieces. Tapered baguette shoulders and pear cut diamonds became popular styles due to their association with Hollywood stars such as Mia Farrow and Aretha Franklin. During this time, extravagant diamond engagement rings exuded opulence, an image that was often sought-after by the upper classes.
1970’s: Characterised as the decade of self expression, the 1970’s saw a wide variety of groovy engagement ring styles. Jewellers of this decade took the opportunity to experiment with metal textures such as gold bark effect and chevron patterns. Couples also began designing matching engagement and wedding sets. The overall uniqueness of the ring overtook the desire for simple designs featuring larger stones. Floral influence made a resurgence in the decade of flower power as eccentric designs took over the engagement ring market.
1980’s: Princess Diana’s iconic engagement ring took the public by storm. Her iconic 12 carat Ceylon sapphire and diamond ring became a cult classic in the jewellery world (featured in our The Royal Family’s Jewellery blog). Yellow gold was the staple choice for jewellery due to its rich buttery hue aligning with this decade’s bold style. Cluster and halo rings made an impact as the expressive designs signalled creativity and romance. Colourful gemstones as the centrepiece also made a return to engagement styles.
1990’s: Minimalist engagement rings made a swift comeback in the 90’s with extravagant halos and colourful gemstones being ‘so last decade’. The princess, round and marquise emerged as the favourite cuts, either paired with diamond set shoulders or as a solitaire. Platinum and white gold made a return as the ideal setting as tastes shifted towards a more understated elegance.
2000’s: The new millennium continued the growth of mass customisation of engagement rings. Combined with the last century’s development of affordable alternatives such as cubic zirconia and gold plating, a much larger portion of the population had access to engagement rings. Due to the immense amount of choice available, there was less pressure to conform to what was popular at the time. However, there was some styles that emerged as trendy. The sparklier the better, as diamond pave bands and halos swept across jewellers’ benches. Rose gold, a metal that has consistently flowed in and out of favour since the 1920s, also returned to popularity in the early 2000s.
2010’s: William and Kate’s (The Prince and Princess of Wales) engagement kicked of the beginning of the 2010’s. As with every other decade, people continue to re-purpose heirloom jewellery to create engagement rings and royals are no different! Prince William proposed with his late mother’s (Princess Diana) engagement. This inspired a revival of the halo style and colourful gemstones. However, engagement ring styles still varied hugely with most jewellers offering hundreds of styles.
2020’s: The oval solitaire has already become a favourite of this decade so far. However, the toi et moi rings (french for ‘you and me’) have also been very popular, with many high profile celebrities sporting the style. The technology behind creating an engagement ring has vastly improved over the years meaning excellently cut stones have become the standard. Yellow gold has also seen a huge rise in popularity, particularly in chunkier styles as many newlyweds are opting for matching thick wedding bands. We look forward to seeing what styles might emerge or make a comeback in the remainder of this decade and how engagement rings will evolve in 2030.
