14ct Gold Ring with Cabochon Paste and Diamonds

• Paste / Rhinestone / Diamante - Paste (or rhinestone or diamante) is the name given to a coloured glass composition used for imitation gemstones, or to imitation gemstones made of glass.
  
  Although the technique of glassmaking had been known for thousands of years, but it wasn't until a lead glass with similar optical properties to diamonds were invented by a German jeweller working in Paris (either "Stras" or 'Strasser") in the early 18th century that "paste" gemstones became popular.
  
  There was no social stigma attached to wearing imitation stones, and they were worn in situations where highway robbery was a possibility. The 18th century settings were of very high quality, equivilent to real gemstone jewellery.
  
  In the nineteeth century the quality of paste jewellery declined and it has remained the poor cousin to genuine gemstones ever since.
• Cabochon Cut in Jewellery - A cabochon cut is a type of gemstone cutting where the stone is cut and polished in a convex shape with a flat bottom and a domed top, with no facets. This type of cut is typically used for opaque or translucent stones that have natural patterns or inclusions that are best displayed in this type of cut. Examples of stones that are often cut as cabochons include turquoise, opal, and moonstone.
• Brilliant Cut - In their naturally occuring state diamonds have little life or sparkle and for many centuries were simply cut in half and worn in amulets. Invented at the end of the 17th century by a Venetian diamond cutter, a "brilliant cut" diamond has 58 facets arranged in a regular geometric relationship, with 33 above the crown and 25 below on the pavilion.
  
  The introduction of the brilliant cut increased the popularity of diamonds in jewellery as it was the first cut to reveal the fire of the diamond, with the light being internally reflected from one facet to another, and was superior to the previously used table cut and rose cut.Variants to the brilliant cut have emerged since the end of the 17th century, but the popularity of the original brilliant cut has continued to the present time, where it is still the most commonly found cut.
  
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This item has been included into following indexes:

• rings, diamond - diamond, multiple diamonds 4,799
• rings, diamond solitaire - diamond solitaire / claw set brilliant cut 6,568