Amsterdam, Roelof Hartstraat, around 1905. In a small jeweller's workshop, a silversmith bends over an oval ring with sharply tapering ends — the marquise, quickly dubbed 'markiezenring' in the Netherlands. On a thin layer of foil, he arranges twelve rose-cut diamonds, from small at the points to slightly larger in the middle. Above the foil bed, he sets a silver mounting, in which each stone is individually pressed in with a minuscule chisel-tap. The metal underneath the whole — the ring band and the base — is 14 karat yellow gold. Silver on top for the reflection of the stones, yellow gold underneath for wearability and warmth against the skin. This is how it was made, a hundred thousand times, in workshops in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Schoonhoven and The Hague.
The marquise ring is the most unmistakably Dutch vintage motif. In other countries, the marquise or navette shape also exists, but nowhere was it made so massively and so consistently as here between 1890 and 1920. Every Dutch family of some means had one: engagement ring, first communion gift, anniversary present. Anyone in the Netherlands who receives an old heirloom ring from a grandmother's drawer will, in eight out of ten cases, be holding a marquise ring.
The Meaning
According to tradition, the marquise or navette shape dates back to the French court of Louis XV. The king is said — the anecdote cannot be confirmed by sources — to have had a diamond cut in the shape of his mistress Madame de Pompadour's smile; this elongated, pointed cut form was named after her. Whether the legend is historically accurate or not, the shape itself was born. Two centuries later, during the Belle Époque, it reappeared in a completely new execution: solidly set with small diamonds, elongated and dramatic, impactful without being large.
In the Netherlands, the shape acquired its own name and its own execution. The typical Dutch marquise ring uses rose-cut diamonds instead of brilliant-cut stones, set on silver foil for extra reflection, and has a 14 or 18 karat gold base band with a silver setting. This 'silver-on-gold' combination — in French, argent sur or — was also popular in Belgium, France, and Portugal, but Dutch workshops developed their own aesthetic: slightly more robust in shape, somewhat simpler in decoration, always wearable in daily life.
The motif coincides in time with the first generation of women who began to wear an engagement ring as a social norm. Before 1890, this was certainly not a common practice in the Netherlands; by 1910, it had almost become standard. The marquise ring belongs to this shift: affordable enough for the broad middle class, impressive enough to show off, discreet enough for everyday wear.
Through the Periods
Around 1890, the first Dutch marquise rings appear in the late-Victorian taste. They are compact, with a handful of large rose-cut diamonds in a closed setting on foil. See the Victorian style guide for the broader context of rose-cut diamonds and closed settings.
Between 1900 and 1915, the motif flourished in the Edwardian taste: longer ovals, more stones (twelve to eighteen), more finely crafted silver settings with millegrain edges, and sometimes a central stone slightly larger than the rest. For the spirit of the time, see the Edwardian style guide. This period is considered the classic heyday: almost every antique marquise ring circulating in the Netherlands today comes from this era.
After 1920, the motif temporarily went out of fashion in the Netherlands; art deco opted for white gold and platinum with brilliant-cut stones in sleek geometric settings. For the contrasting aesthetic, see the Art Deco style guide. Only in the 1970s did the marquise ring return to the Netherlands as a retro motif, now often with brilliants instead of rose-cut diamonds and entirely set in white gold — a look-alike that technically has little to do with the original Belle Époque marquise ring.
Turn the ring over and look at the back of the setting.
How to Recognise an Original
Turn the ring over and look at the back of the setting. An original marquise ring from around 1900 will have a closed setting at the back — you will see a solid silver or gold base under the stones, with a thin layer of foil underneath. In a modern reproduction, the setting is almost always open, with the underside of the stone visible. This open setting is technically superior for modern stones (more sparkle), but it is not characteristic of the original motif.
Look at the stones themselves. Rose-cut diamonds have a flat base and a domed top with a number of triangular facets (three to twenty-four, depending on quality). They do not sparkle like modern brilliants; they shimmer more softly and deeply, with a slightly greyish or yellowish glow from the foil underneath. If a ring you have sparkles like a modern engagement ring, it is likely that the stones were replaced sometime between 1970 and now.
Check the silver-on-gold combination. On the top, you will see silver (the setting), on the inside of the ring band, iron-grey tarnishing or oxidising silver, and at the base of the ring, yellow gold. If the entire ring is made of the same metal (for example, entirely white gold or entirely 18 karat yellow), then it is not an original Dutch marquise ring from 1900 but a later reissue.
Finally, pay attention to repair points. Marquise rings are vulnerable at the pointed ends of the oval; this is where the thinnest material is, and the settings break most often. Check whether one or both points have been re-soldered or replaced later — often visible by a slight colour shift or an irregular solder seam under magnification. Small repairs are acceptable; completely replaced end pieces reduce the value. For maintenance advice, see maintenance and care.