If you’re in the market for an exquisite ring, today’s your lucky day – for I’m about to tell you just where you should go shopping…

The Antique Ring Boutique is one of the best local businesses for truly beautiful antique and vintage rings, with each item carefully sourced, assessed and checked. As you can see from their website, they offer an amazing array of gorgeous rings from many different eras over the last two centuries – including Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian rings, stunning Art Deco pieces, rings from the 1940s and 1950s, to rings from the 80s (my personal style favourite) and 90s too. The Antique Ring Boutique’s beautiful rings almost all include stunning gemstones, including the girl’s best friend – diamonds – as well as sapphires, garnets, emeralds, rubies and more.

It is the company’s engagement ring selection that is especially popular, with a beautiful selection of rings featuring platinum, white gold, rose gold and gold bands topped off with beautifully cut gemstones.

The Antique Ring Boutique takes great pride in promoting sustainability and ethical practices in the jewellery industry, helping establish a love of these beautiful antique rings amongst their clientele.

The company offers a complimentary ring sizing service, and all online orders can be express shipped – with both UK and international orders fully tracked and traced meaning they arrive with you fully secure. The company also offers a ring sourcing service if you’re after a particular piece or look. 

Take a look at The Antique Ring Boutique‘s excellent website, or make an appointment to visit their Knightsbridge showroom or meet with them at the Pavillion Kensington!

About The Antique Ring Boutique

The company was founded in 2019 by Sam who developed a love of jewellery whilst working his first job – post a Fine Art degree at Goldsmith’s college in London – at department store Liberty It was here that Sam began to source and sell rare and unique pieces of jewellery whilst also becoming increasingly passionate about purchasing old gemstones and miscatalogued items of vintage jewellery himself, developing his interest in antique and vintage rings.

After a spell at Harvey Nichols, Sam decided to go it alone and established his company five years ago. Quickly welcomed as the youngest member of LAPADA (The Association of Art and Antiques Dealers), Sam ensures that every aspect of his company is subjected to great attention to detail – from buying to jewellery testing to photographing and selling. No discrepancies in the rings go unflagged, nor are gemstones unchecked. You can be sure that the beautiful ring you choose is of the utmost quality, and has been authenticated diligently by Sam and trusted industry experts.

You can read more about Sam at Sam’s Story on The Antique Ring Boutique website.

I also took the opportunity to ask Sam a few questions:

Moving down to London at the tender age of 17 must have been interesting! Did you have any plans to work in a jewellery field one day at that time, or did that come later?

Yes, quite young! I was awarded a scholarship for a degree in Fine Art at Goldsmiths college which swept me off to London. However, my calling for antique jewellery didn’t become apparent until I got my first job at Liberty of London. Liberty is a fantastic place, a truly inspiring building and a great place to work. Suddenly, I had the antique jewellery bug – fuelling and refining my passion, as I slowly began to develop a particular interest in the unique world of antique and vintage rings. 

Do you have any favourite pieces? (Or gemstones, eras…?) 

This is a hard question. I think it has to be a good Ruby – the prince of gemstones but it’s a tough choice between them and spinels. Spinels are similar in colour, often mistaken for each other but underrated. However, I love the glow of a Burmese ruby, especially the “pigeon blood” red ones. Good rubies over one carat are becoming rarer and harder to find. 

In terms of era, it has to be Georgian. I’ve been collecting 18th-century furniture and so I’ve been swept up in the romance and extravagance of the period’s jewellery as well. My favourite Georgian pieces are those which show the character of age – the non-symmetrical cuts and discoloured foiling reassure the wearer they can stand the test of time. 

See The Antique Boutique’s ruby rings, spinel rings and Georgian rings.

What would you advise someone who is perhaps looking to get their first “statement” ring – is there any classic style or design that will stand the test of time?

I would go for quality over anything else. And don’t be afraid to spend big (if you can!). Decide whether you’re a gemstone or a setting kind of person and take it from there. I generally advise to choose a gem first, and then look at examples from different time periods. Gem choice is often a matter of favourite colour – but you also need to consider durability, If you want to wear an antique ring every day, favour harder gems like diamond or topaz. For occasional wear, you can choose pearls, opals or moonstones. 

If you really want a statement ring, think cocktail. These rings have larger settings or gemstones. They might have an unusual arrangement or a single particularly large gem. 

See The Antique Ring Boutique’s cocktail rings.