Maggie Grace's Engagement Ring

A rare Georgian Era diamond engagement ring. This ring is similar in style to the antique engagement ring Maggie Grace received from Matthew Cooke in February 2015. Photo ©2015 EraGem Jewelry.   Maggie Grace received a gorgeous antique engagement ring from writer/director Matthew Cooke this past February. The actress told USA Today that her stunning halo ring is from 1810. Photographs of her ring confirm that Matthew Cooke located a rare Georgian Era finger ring for Maggie Grace. All the diamonds appear to be white in color. If they are original to the mounting, then they would most likely be rose cut, as they are in the ring featured in this article. Also, they would likely be backed by silver foil, which granted Georgian Era diamonds significant fire under the glow of candlelight. Maggie Grace's central diamond is surrounded by a halo of moderately sized round cut diamonds set in tarnished silver flutes. Its thin band is fashioned from yellow gold. Every one of these characteristics marks it as a Georgian Era jewel. While modern halo rings feature tiny pave diamonds, Georgian Era halos featured much larger accent stones to surround the stone. This gives them a royal feel, and adds far more fire to the overall appearance of the stones. The tarnished silver behind the diamonds also marks this ring as clearly Georgian. In all likelihood, the underside of the mounting is made of yellow gold (to protect the skin from traces of tarnished silver). According to Lang Antiques, the gold band on Maggie Smith's engagement ring would have been fashioned by first melting an 18k gold alloy and pouring it into a mold shaped as a bar. An apprentice goldsmith would then employ a rolling mill, invented in the mid 1750s, to roll out the gold to the desired thickness. It is truly remarkable that Matthew Cooke was able to find such a rare and precious ring for Maggie Grace. These Georgian Era rings are truly hard to find. Beginning in 1804, wealthy Europeans were encouraged to donate their gold and silver jewels to the cause of war. In exchange, jewelers would fashion exact copies in iron, resetting these imitations with the original stones. Furthermore, the Georgian Era spans between 1714 and 1830 (approximately), a time when jewels were refashioned from season to season. Diamonds and gemstones were removed from unfashionable pieces and reset in "new" settings which were fitting for wear on the streets and at court. Indeed, it is rare to find an original piece without some kind of alteration. It appears that Matthew Cooke has done just that. We applaud him on his choice of a rare gift for his rare and beautiful sweetheart.