Choosing an engagement ring today usually means choosing between three things: a newly mined diamond, a lab-grown diamond, or an antique diamond cut by hand a century or more ago. As a dealer who handles old cut diamonds every week, my view is simple. If you can, buy antique. Here is why.
The short answer
Antique diamonds are natural, cut by hand, conflict free and completely individual, and good antique rings have a long record of holding their value. Lab-grown diamonds are mass-produced, and their resale value collapses almost as soon as you buy them. And the twist: many new engagement rings are simply copies of Victorian designs. Why buy the copy when you can own the original?
What makes an old cut diamond so special
Old cut diamonds have a charm that cannot be imitated. Look closely and you will see a large culet (the small flat facet at the very bottom of the stone), slightly irregular facets, and proportions judged by eye rather than by computer. They were cut by hand, hundreds of years ago, to sparkle by candlelight. Modern laser cutting can copy the shape of an old cut, but not that soft, imperfect, living quality. The surest way to own a genuinely old diamond is to buy an original antique ring.
The three antique cuts to know
Rose cut. A flat underside with a domed top of triangular facets rising to a point, like the base of a modern diamond turned to face upwards. Rose cuts are one of my favourites. In Georgian jewellery they are usually set in closed settings with a thin foil behind them, typical of the period, which gives them a warm, candlelit glow. See our Georgian rose cut diamond cluster of about 1780.
Old mine and antique cushion cut. The two names are often used for the same family of stones: squarish or rectangular, with softly rounded corners like a cushion, chunky facets and a generous culet. For me these are some of the most beautiful diamonds in the world, and large ones are genuinely hard to find. They are also very much in demand: Taylor Swift's engagement ring, revealed in August 2025, is set with an old mine brilliant cut diamond, and the style has been everywhere since.
Old European cut. The round successor to the old mine cut, popular around 1890 to 1930, still cut by hand, with a small table, tall crown and visible culet. You will find it in Edwardian and Art Deco rings such as our Edwardian platinum sapphire ring.
Antique diamonds vs lab-grown diamonds
- Value. Lab-grown diamonds are produced industrially and in ever larger quantities, and their prices have fallen sharply. Try to sell one a year after buying it and you will be offered a small fraction of what you paid. Antique diamonds are finite: no more will ever be made, fewer survive each year, and in our experience prices for good antique rings have risen steadily.
- Character. Every antique diamond is unique, cut by a craftsman's eye. Lab-grown stones are technically flawless and identical by design.
- Environment. Growing diamonds takes very large amounts of energy, and most lab-grown stones are produced in China and India. An antique diamond needs no new energy, mining or manufacturing at all.
- History. An antique ring has a story. It has been worn, loved and passed on, and it will carry your story next.
If an antique diamond is beyond your budget, I would not suggest a lab diamond. I would suggest an antique sapphire or ruby ring instead: natural, historic, beautiful, and far better value over time. Of course, if resale value really doesn't matter to you, a lab diamond is your choice to make. My advice is simply to go in with your eyes open.
Antique diamonds vs newly mined diamonds
Modern mining is tightly regulated, but the only way to be completely certain a diamond has no link to modern conflict mining is to choose one cut before it existed. Antique diamonds also come from a very different world. Before the South African discoveries of 1867, diamonds came from much smaller operations in India and Brazil. And a diamond was not yet the engagement stone: that idea owes a great deal to the diamond industry's 20th-century advertising, above all De Beers' "A Diamond Is Forever" campaign of 1947.
Even Queen Victoria's engagement ring, in 1839, was not a diamond solitaire but a gold serpent set with an emerald, and snake rings became the most fashionable love tokens of the age. Diamonds were romantic, but so were sapphires, rubies, pearls and a coiled gold snake. That freedom is one of the joys of buying antique today.
The original, not the copy
Here is the funny part. Look at the most popular new engagement rings, whether set with mined or lab-grown diamonds, and many of them borrow their designs directly from Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian rings: halos, clusters, toi et moi rings, cushion shapes. So why buy a copy of a Victorian ring when you can own the real thing? An original that has witnessed history, has a story to tell, has a charm that cannot be replaced, and has already survived 150 years and will happily survive 150 more. It is clearly timeless, because everyone else is still copying it.
Questions couples ask
Are antique diamonds less sparkly than modern ones? They sparkle differently: broader, warmer flashes of light rather than the icy glitter of a modern brilliant. Many people find them far more beautiful.
Can an antique engagement ring be resized? Most can. We offer complimentary resizing wherever it is possible, carried out by our specialist bench jeweller. Read our guide to sizing antique rings.
Is buying an antique ring online risky? Not with us. Every ring comes with a certificate of authenticity, free insured delivery (DHL Express to the US, typically within 1 to 3 working days), and a 30-day no-hassle returns policy.
Browse our antique engagement rings, or read about Georgian rose cut diamonds and Victorian snake rings.