One of our specialities at Serpentine Jewels is breathing new life into old jewelry with custom reset projects. Clients often bring us inherited jewelry they don’t wear, and we work with them closely on bespoke designs that showcase the stones in a way that’s more suited to their current taste. Now more than ever, our clients crave jewelry that has meaning, tells a story and feels uniquely their own.
Most recently, a design I’ve consistently returned to when refashioning heirlooms is the Dinner Ring, like the above custom piece we just completed. Unlike a cocktail ring, which has a high profile and a large center stone component, the dinner ring has a low, flat profile that stretches vertically up the finger, and is usually set with multiple smaller stones in a geometric arrangement. It has become a staple style for us as it provides a blank canvas to reuse old stones (especially rounds) that’s both statement-making and suitable for everyday wear.
Historically, dinner rings were the cocktail ring’s more demure cousin, born after the 20’s and Prohibition, when socializing became more buttoned up and refined and wild cocktail parties transitioned to elegant dinner parties.
Because this time period coincided with the Art Deco Era, dinner ring designs have elements characteristic of this time period: symmetry, bold geometry, intricate detail work, soft curvature and sometimes bold colored gemstones.
Dinner Rings became symbols of female empowerment, often purchased by the wearer, rather than gifted by a male partner. The history of this design and its modern Deco aesthetic make our Dinner Ring one of my favorite blank canvases for a custom heirloom reset.
