Vintage cluster ring set with a 1.95ct unheated red ruby and diamonds weighing 0.8ctw in 18k.

The ruby is a vivid red, its longer cut graceful in an East West setting.

The ring is meticulously laid out, its specially cut baguette diamonds are all tapered (none are just regular baguettes), and then set at a curvature that flatters the form greatly.

Hence the ring ‘spreads out’ despite being quite dainty, its face spanning 15mm by 17mm.

Actual diamonds bordering the main stone are not many, but the layering of gold work gives the impression the ruby is studded with diamonds.

These Mid Century styles of Art Deco rings were made uniquely in this part of the world, almost like their predecessor Western antique pieces, but crafted through Asian techniques.

The ring is built from many separate components coming together, that is one clue. A 1920s Art Deco piece would be carved and its components less complex. Yet from the front, one would not know.

Many of these rings have passed for being made much earlier than they were. Yet there aren’t many that come to the marketplace, this kind of decorated, yet small.

Evocative of an era, and only on very close inspection, of another continent executing that era.