Featured Antique and Ancient Finger ring resource page

I was researching two lead rings that I have and came across this page that I thought was really useful.
https://finds.org.uk/counties/findsrecordingguides/finger-rings/

 

nice

 

I think I posted that link before in one of the threads which discussed an ancient or medieval/renaissance ring. But you know the forum, things disappear in a fog of other threads.

 

I must have missed that!. It’s a good site, lots of information.

 

Great information....Thank you

 

should be nailed at top.

 

Nailed.

 

Here is a pair found at Lindisfarne- c. 9th century... with the original owner.

 

How about these!
Don’t look if you don’t like skeletons!From Pompeii or Herculaneum I can’t remember which.

 

lovely. they all had slender and elegant fingers then.

 

Wow!!! So interesting

 

AND a pretty DECENT set of TEETH!!!!! FROM an ANCIENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Amazing thread and cool posts! Here is a very old ring made in 2-parts. One part to set the 7 diamonds in silver, and another to form the band using a high karat yellow gold. As this ring was made in two pieces that were assembled, I am thinking it is much older than it may appear--from around 1650 to 1720. The 2-part design element was mimicked later (even today), but this one is actually made in two pieces. It has writing inside, but I cannot read it. This is the classic Cruciform with 7 diamonds and the central sun motif. I believe it was made in Spain, New Spain, or Portugal. In my view the 7 stones represent the Sun (center), Moon, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mercury, and Mars. As the ancients knew about these planets revolving, yes, around the sun. I would love to see another one like it made in 2-parts. It is quite marvelous. Thanks!

 

P.S. That is a cool link! I learned that band = hoop and the top = bezel!

 

Lovely ring, @northbeach . It could be 18th century.

The style is not Iberian imo. Also, 18th century and earlier Iberian diamond rings that I have seen are all gold, and usually carry marks. Contrary to most other Europeans, they didn't use silver to set off the white of the diamond.
The use of ca 15 carat gold suggests a British origin to me.

It is a fun construction. I wonder if the gold band is a 19th century addition, a replacement for an original band which may have broken.

Btw, we have an old cut diamond thread, because quite a few of us prefer old diamonds. I can't find the thread right now, but your ring would fit right in there.

 

Thank you for the replies. Yes, I am on the wrong thread. I don't know my way around here. Sorry about that. I believe the actual gold is higher karat, but the machine test mixed all the metals to come up with the average. And, yes, agreed, I do think that the bezel and loop (band) are from two different eras. I found another example that is very similar with a bezel from the late 1600s and the loop (band) circa 1730s. This ring probably came up from Mexico when it was New Spain pre Gold Rush, or during the Gold Rush in California (via the horn). There are many Portuguese in the area with their ships (it Came from a Gold Rush era estate in Northern California). I will post some images of ancient jewels from the Victoria and Albert Museum if I can find the right thread. The metal makeup should tell us a lot, if I knew about the traditions. All seven diamonds are intact, which tells us something about the skill of the jeweler who made this amazing ring. Have a great day everyone.

 

Is the silver part soldered to the gold shank? what type of diamonds are there,I see nothing special about the "bezels" as the appear to be smashed from abuse and wear.

 

Aloha, I am not sure how the jewelers of the era attached the two parts. They are typical diamonds of the 17th & 18th centuries with minimal facets (7 total), and none have fallen out. Pretty neat.

 

Those are called 'senailles', a very basic cut which is still used today. At the time it was a very effective cut for relatively little money, often made using the cut-offs from more expensive cuts. Senailles still provided the sparkle needed on candlelit evening get-together.

18th Century Portuguese and Spanish jewellers favoured table cuts and emerald cuts, not senailles. The first table cuts, much more sophisticated than senailles, date from the 13th century, so long before this ring was made. The first emerald cut stones date from the 16th century, so they were also around before your ring was made.
I see senailles a lot on English jewellery, but also on Belgian (Flemish) jewellery. Given the 15 ct together with the senailles, my bet is still on 18th century English.
There is nothing at all about this ring that points to Portuguese or Spanish.

 

[QUOTE=" Given the 15 ct together with the senailles, my bet is still on 18th century English.
There is nothing at all about this ring that points to Portuguese or Spanish.[/QUOTE]

Aloha, As noted previously, the loop/band is not 15kt gold and has a much higher gold content. That reading is an error in the automated metal analyzer data. I have examples of Spanish and Portuguese ring references from museums that match this one-- Cheers.