Why the Cool Girls Want Vintage Diamonds

When fashion publicist Martha Botts got engaged in March, her fiancé popped the question one evening in the park with a tiny diamond ring (a placeholder until she found the natural diamond of dreams), along with tacos and Champagne.

“I had no idea what style ring I wanted,” says Botts, a former New Yorker who moved to Charlotte, N.C. Like many brides, she did exhaustive research, which led her to vintage rings. “A romantic chord struck inside me, and I decided I wanted something classic, a ring that would look pretty a century from now, and a ring that was sustainable.”

She chose a platinum Edwardian ring from 1901 with a round natural diamond center stone at Perry’s jewelry store in Charlotte. “The style and the sentiment felt so right,” she said. “It was like putting on a black turtleneck versus a trendy top.”

The style and the sentiment felt so right. It was like putting on a black turtleneck versus a trendy top.

She’s one of a growing number of socially conscious shoppers looking for vintage or “recycled” diamond engagement rings and jewelry.

What is a recycled diamond? It’s a stone that had another life—antique, pre-owned, or a family heirloom.

The truth is diamonds have always been part of the circular economy. As a precious stone, often imbued with emotion and history, a diamond is an heirloom that lasts for generations.

Vintage diamond rings have always had a certain charm for some, but that old world aesthetic isn’t for everyone. More recently, however, many of today’s hottest designers started working with antique and recycled stones in contemporary designs.

“We are giving old stones new life,” says Maggi Simpkins, the Los Angeles-based bespoke jeweler who offers antique and new diamonds set in modern rings and jewelry. Some clients prefer knowing their diamond is recycled, she says. “We set vintage diamonds and sometimes a person’s family stone in unique styles that are customized to the client’s taste.”

When Emily Selter, an art historian in New York, got engaged last summer, she knew she wanted a vintage stone, but in a streamlined design. She went to Stephen Russell, the Madison Avenue retailer known for its curated collection of vintage jewelry. “I always admired their selection of jewelry,” she says. “And I knew if they didn’t have what I wanted, they would be able to find it.”

She chose a vintage ring with a 3-carat oval diamond center, which the jeweler removed and set in a simple gold bezel ring. “I wanted the ring to lay flat on the finger so I could wear it all the time,” she said, and she never takes it off.

“I love anything old and with a sense of history,” says Selter. “So, I can imagine all the people who wore it before me who hopefully had happy marriages.”

In addition to being socially minded, she also prefers the soft glow of older diamonds. Nearly all jewelers today have testing devices that ensures vintage and recycled diamonds are in fact natural, which reassures clients who are committed to purchasing authentic stones.

I love anything old and with a sense of history,” says Selter. “so, I can imagine all the people who wore it before me who hopefully had happy marriages.”

Some of best sources for recycled diamonds include Monica Rich Kosann, whose Diamonds Reborn Collection offers jewelry made with repurposed natural diamonds and recycled 18-karat gold. These classic pieces ($800 to $1,875) deliver the feel-good factor that socially conscious consumers want.

“People are more interested in old diamonds, and they are more educated,” says Sara Beltran, whose Dezso collection features old-mine and old-European cut diamonds in stylish, shiny gold cuffs and rings, and on sleek leather cord necklaces. “It’s a trend now, but I’ve been using them for several years,” she says. “Old European cuts have a softer, slightly yellowish color, which is more interesting to me than super white diamonds.” She also uses polki cut diamonds, an old Indian cut which is being reproduced today.

Simpkins says vintage diamonds have a sense of romance that captivates her clients, especially old-European cuts with chunky facets that emanate a soft sparkle. “I let the stone speak for itself,” she says when designing around an antique stone. “The trend is for simpler rings and pendants where the stone is the star.”

As for Martha Botts, she’s wearing her Edwardian-era diamond ring stacked with the tiny diamond on chain that her fiancé proposed with because both are equally sentimental.

Diamonds are inherently sustainable. As the hardest naturally occurring substance found on earth, diamonds continue to be reimagined in every generation. It’s a story waiting to be told.