Collecting Vintage Cocktail Rings Part I
Hi everyone! I hope you had a great week-end. I spent some time in my antique booth at the Gristmill Antique Center (Troy, NY) on Friday, and I may have bought a couple of larger items at Goodwill on the way. Come back tomorrow and you’ll get to see what I bought–Tuesdays are vintage finds days.
Meanwhile, I thought I’d share a personal fascination of mine, a bit of a quirky one to be honest, that is, collecting vintage cocktail rings (well, mostly vintage). Introduced into popular culture back in the 20’s, they’ve reappeared on the fashion scene numerous times, including the past half-decade or so.
My collection started with the silver-tone metal ring on the far left. I purchased it in England at a low-priced department store called Primark in about 2010. We had lived in Derby, England for two years, and one of my sweet new friends, Julie, often wore a stunning silver cocktail ring when we went out at night.
I really liked the look, so I bought one for myself. It took me a while to work up the courage to wear it–you know how it can be when you want to break in a new fashion trend for yourself. And in the end, if I chickened out, I’d only spent £1, or roughly $1.60 on it. It’s still one of my very favorites.
This coral-colored ring is relatively new and I’ve not had a chance to wear it yet. It’s quite a statement piece, so I’ll be picking my occasion carefully. It would look stunning with a little black dress, right? She cost me all of a dollar, which is my favorite price for cocktail rings! I would date it to the 1970’s.
I bought this pretty silver-toned dogwood flower at Kohl’s a few years ago with a gift card; it’s another of my favorites. Do you know why they’re called “cocktail rings”? Apparently it dates back to Prohibition when a stylish woman enjoying an illegal beverage in a speakeasy might want to flaunt her drink–and herself(!). Hence the term “cocktail ring.”
I wear mine on a variety of occasions (not necessarily involving alcohol): evenings out, weddings, meeting friends for lunch, and shopping, to name a few.
This flashy ring is my only other “new” cocktail ring–another Khol’s gift card purchase. I like to wear it to weddings.
I picked up this vintage “onyx” cameo a few months ago at a garage sale for, you guessed it, a dollar. The gold-tone is wearing off a bit, but it still wearable. I’d date it to the 1960’s.
My latest find–from a couple of weeks ago, this ring with its cluster of tiny gold flowers, dates to the 1960’s.
This beauty, dating to the 90’s (ha ha, that sounds funny) is another statement-maker. I’ve yet to wear her either. Maybe I’m afraid of the color coral? For 50 cents I could afford the risk.
I wear all four of these $1.00 pretties quite regularly.
I consider this 1980’s era ring “neutral” and wear it with almost any color.
Ditto the 1970’s era topaz; it compliments almost any outfit, even though it’s a little fancy.
Isn’t she a beauty? I’d date the “amethyst” to the 70’s as well. Same for the faux turquoise ring.
The pretty aqua “moonstone” surrounded by gold filigree could not be passed up for just a dollar, though she’s a bit bigger than I typically wear. With the right outfit though, I might be persuaded to slip her on. You may be wondering about the values on these trinkets. Well, they won’t be funding my retirement, that’s for sure. I’d value any one of them in the $8-12.00 range, but they sure make a fun collectible, and because I wear them, they’re not sitting around gathering dust. No, they are on display for all to see.
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Other Collecting posts you may like:
Wade Whimsies
Cook Books Part I
Stick Spatterware
source: The Piece of Statement Jewelry That Says, “Let’s Drink!”
Wow you have quite a collection of rings. I loved seeing them and you have inspired me to look for some for myself. I love rings but never thought to look for them at sales. Thanks.
Good luck with your hunt, Sally Ann!
Thanks Diana
I love your cocktail rings! I have a few myself and I’m eyeing yours! One of my rings looks just like your faux turquoise with a little more black running through the blue. I wear them all as much as possible 🙂 I was so bummed when I lost a stone from a ring the other day – a very noticeable one. I have no idea where the rhinestone went and it’s such a brilliant blue color, it would be hard to replace. So I’m on the hunt again. My other favorite love is vintage pins. I’m always keeping my eyes open for them!
I just bought a very pretty ring with multiple stones only to discover later that it was missing one amethyst-colored stone, so I feel your pain, Rheta! I hope we can get them fixed someday…
Very cool collectible indeed. I love all of your cocktail rings. Don’t be surprised if I jump on this cool collectible for myself. I already collect some vintage jewelry but never look at rings but that’s about to change.
Jump on, please! Let’s be trend-setters together 🙂
Fun! A lot of those look very familiar…I used to love wearing them!
Thanks Linda! I’m in good company then 🙂
Very jazzy! A great collection of rings!
Thanks, Jan!
Alas, I’m allergic to inexpensive metals, so I have never had the pleasure of wearing them. However I pick up rings for use in mosaics and crafting all the time. Fun bits of glitz, nice post, Sandi
Such a bummer, Sandi. I can’t wear them for too long either or they turn my finger greenish! I can see how they would be great to use for crafting. Glad you enjoyed the post 🙂
Neat rings! I love jewelry period, but until the last few years never wore rings. They add “pizzazz” and a fun touch to an outfit and are fun to find inexpensive ones like you say. Enjoyed it!
Thanks, Karen! I agree with you on everything 🙂
What a wonderful collection! They’re all beautiful, but my favorites are the coral-colored rings. (I’d have fun at your booth. Too bad we live so far away!)
Thanks Mary Ann! I think we’d have a good time together 🙂
Great collection!! I have pinned them to my pinterest board of Vintage Bling. Thanks for showing them!!
I’m glad you like it, Sherlynn, and thanks so much for the pin!
You continue to amaze me. Love the rings blog. I have not noticed you wearing any of those rings, so now I will be on the lookout.
You are too sweet, Bev 🙂 Next time I wear one, I’ll point it out, unless you spot it first!
Great eye candy, Diana! I’ve always loved rings and have quite a few, but not the cocktail rings you show here. I’ve never seen inexpensive rings like yours that look so beautiful. Maybe I need to look more carefully! A fun collection to add to anyway. Thanks for showing it!
Wow, I love the rings too…each different. Especially like the corals. How are cocktail rings different from regular rings? How can you tell? I especially love that wooden hand you’re showing them on! Very cool.
Glad you enjoyed the post, Florence. Cocktail rings are bigger than “normal” rings and usually flashier, with lots of bling.
Diana, love your collection and I have a few that I wear on occasion, too. I also love your wooden hand display 😉
What a fun collection.
Thanks for sharing with SYC.
Hi Diana, Do you ever “wear” these rings as a scarf ring? Run both ends of a lightweight scarf through or each end through in the opposite directions; silk or chiffon is loverly. If you are using a square one, fold it in a triangle and flare out the point to show off the design. Pinning the ring on your collarbone area of your top (rakish angle, please!) shows off the scarf and an overly large ring nicely. Al’s sister-in-law used a filigree barrette as a bulky scarf pin once and it was impressive. I’m sure you already know to coat the inside of inexpensive jewelry with clear nail polish. I recently got an Avon slip-on bracelet that turned my arm green in 3 weeks; I was disgusted! Back to the nail polish! Now if I could only do it to necklaces! My body chemistry wears the gold plate off jewels way too quickly; some of us just aren’t lucky.
When you started the article, I was thinking, oh, no, you shouldn’t advertise the fact that you have JEWELS in your home. Guess a burglar would have to be hard up to raid your house for these! Also think they’d look cute on a small bureau-top Christmas tree!
My biggest temptation! I have a collection as well! I love all of yours from part 1 and 2. That lovely aqua moonstone ring reminds me of a peacock. It’s awesome! My greatest weakness is cameos. Whether it’s rings, necklaces, brooches, etc… I have several! I’m sure it stems from the first piece of jewelry my daddy bought me which was a beautiful cameo ring. I especially loved these last 2 emails from you.
Thanks again for sharing with us.
Jeri
I enjoyed all your costume jewelry collection. I have brooches that belonged to several family members and was hoping to see some in yours, but can compare your prices. I noticed you did not mention any names. Does that matter in pricing? ex: Sarah Coventry