WWII Diamond Wedding Band

This beautiful little ring nods to Victorian tradition and Art Deco style with delicately engraved orange blossom details, but its materials are a reflection of the slice of history in which it was made.

Four single cut diamonds sparkle, spaced with three tenderly engraved orange blossoms. While the tradition of gifting orange blossoms for a wedding reaches back to Greek and Roman mythology, naturally it was Queen Victoria who reignited the craze when she wore a wreath of orange blossoms in her wedding to Prince Albert. The flower has been said to represent fertility for its association with bearing fruit, purity for its white blossoms, and eternal love for its source on an evergreen tree. As such it was a well-loved motif for engraved and die-struck wedding bands, particularly in the Art Deco period, and continues to be used today to give modern jewelry a vintage feel.

The band itself is made of 14k yellow gold, and while two-tone rings with diamonds set in white metal reigned supreme in the 1930s and 1940s, restrictions to civilian use of various metals during World War II meant that favourites like white gold and platinum were unavailable. Palladium was used instead from about 1939, and at a lower price than platinum and whiter than white gold, made a fine option for the time. Palladium is still occasionally used in jewelry (and in white gold alloys), but usage dropped way down once platinum and nickel were no longer considered strategic resources for war.

An elegant piece of jewelry, this ring would make an ideal wedding band, anniversary gift, or stacking ring.

Details:
• 14k gold and palladium, stamped "14k-PALL"
• Size 6.25 and able to be resized
• Four single cut diamonds approximately 1.5mm in diameter each
• Face of band is 3mm wide and has a rise of 1.5mm, back of band is 1.5mm wide and 1mm thick
• 1.4g