When choosing a piece of diamond jewellery, it can often be difficult to match your budget to the size of the diamonds that you are longing for. In the early nineteenth century, the now world-renowned French jeweller Oscar Massin came up with the idea of a setting which made small diamonds look larger. We know this today as the illusion setting. It is a cost friendly alternative to give the impression of a bigger stone whilst saving a considerable amount of money.
The most common illusion setting is where a diamond is set into a metal which reflects the colour of the stone thus creating the illusion of a larger stone from a distance. A more modern version of the illusion setting is where smaller diamonds are expertly cut to fit together in order to give the illusion of a solitaire diamond. This provides a solution when a single diamond is over budget and without close inspection of the ring, it can be difficult to spot the illusion.
Lot 142 in the 9th of October Jewellery Auction is a diamond dress ring featuring an illusion set diamond centre, with step cut stones expertly set to create the look of a large centre stone. With baguette and marquise cut diamonds to the shoulders you can rival the jewellery of the Beverly Hills housewives for a fraction of the cost. Estimate £2500 - £3500 (no, that’s not an illusion!)
Amy Cameron
McTear’s sells more jewellery than any other traditional auction house in the dedicated jewellery auctions that take place twice monthly, run concurrently live online on a platform that attracts six million visitors annually from over 120 countries worldwide.
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