Typical WWII / Retro Era Wedding Set Styles

by Shari D (Jeweler's Granddaughter)
(Indiana)

Two tone gold and diamond WWII era wedding set

Two tone gold and diamond WWII era wedding set

Just finished reading through your very informative post in the history if wedding rings, but was a little disappointed to find that the most traditional design of all the wedding ring sets of this era, and actually even on to the very early 60's when the solitaire engagement ring gained heavily in popularity, was not shown or even mentioned.

I refer of course to the illusion style wedding set, which was originally designed and became popular in the late 1930's as the fishtail prong style with Old European Cut or Transitional cut diamonds, but became amazingly popular during the war, due to its use if sculpted gold settings which made the very small, newly developed and more expensive brilliant cut diamonds look much more impressive than they normally would in much plainer settings. The marriage boom during the prewar and war years kept jewelers and the companies that produced these rings amazingly busy. It was certainly a "boom" for them as well!

The Keepsake and ArtCarved brands were famous for them, with Orange Blossom bringing up the rear in sales of this particular style. It is the most common type of style, although every design had its own characteristics, and is the one most commonly found when shopping for "vintage" wedding ring sets today. I have attached some photos of representative sets below. I also own about a half dozen of these styles myself, either in sets that were commonly soldered together, or as separate engagement and wedding band sets, and a couple of unmatched companion pieces I happened to like very much on their own.

I have also done a considerable amount of study on these types, and am confused about the claim made by ArtCarved in their advertising that they were the only company allowed by the government to produce wedding rings and engagement rings and sets during the war, when I have a considerable collection of wartime advertisements from not only them, but also Keepsake and Orange Blossom, all separate companies from each other.



Hi Shari,

Thank-you so much for taking the time to submit these photos, along with the information on WWII, Retro wedding ring styles.

This was an exceptionally popular style of the time, and many of these rings have survived in excellent condition. In fact, these styles of rings represent some of the most popular real vintage wedding ring sets that are available to buy in vintage and antique wedding ring stores and online too.

We are constantly working on expanding our Antique Wedding Rings section, including pages on specific styles represented in each Era, and your contribution on the illusion ring style is most appreciated!

The claim by ArtCarved definitely needs more investigation. Perhaps they were allowed to use wartime metals like platinum? I'm going to write to ArtCarved for further information on the matter and hopefully will hear something back. If I do, I will definitely update this page.

Thank-you again so much for this addition of valuable information, which I know EWR's readers will truly enjoy. And do please feel free to send us anymore info/pictures that you would like to contribute in the future!

Sincerely,

Suzanne Gardner
Everything Wedding Rings

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