Featured Help dating an antique ring, please

Hi, thanks for asking to clarify, but I did say they the diamonds are set in silver, not white gold. So, then, what does that mean?!?!?

 

But you did say white gold was used for the ring:

White gold was first patented in Germany in 1915, that is why I think a ring that is partly white gold is no older than 1915.
I don't quite understand why anyone would plate white gold with yellow gold though, are you sure that is what they said?

 

Well, yes, it is all very convoluted. so many parts of the ring actually look different. It's not so cut and dry. Here are some more pics, and let me clarify a bit more.
The mounds/mountings that hold the diamonds test silver.
The shank is yellow gold.
When you move up the shank, it still tests for gold, but it is white gold with a yellow plating.
Please also see the back of the ring, which also tests for gold but is a yellow plating over white.
Does that make sense?
I don't get it either, and what do you mean "are you sure that is what they said?"
Why is "they". I'm doing this research and testing myself .

 

These photos might help or not

 

I guess no one realized the ring is not 18K gold legally.With the amount of silver in the setting it might be 16K,possibly less. As far as the diamonds used,they are still used today in jewelry.

"Are you saying they accepted, assayed and stamped without checking the metal content?" If the stamped area on the shank was the Frankenstein part added to the ring at some date,then the whole ring was not assayed.

 

My head is spinning. LOL!!!

 

And I guess you don't realize that the gold stamp used to apply to the gold only, something that is not uncommon in many parts of the world. Some still mark both precious metals, some only the main metal.
From what I can see, most of the ring is gold. And from what I gather from what Martin says, most of the ring does indeed test as gold, with silver for the diamond setting. The usual combo for antique diamond rings, btw.
If most of the ring is gold it could have been marked legally as gold in many European countries.

So far you are the only one who assumes it is a Frankenstein ring. To me it looks like a regular antique gold ring with silver for the diamond setting.
If you check antique diamond rings you will see many are gold, with silver for the diamonds.

 

Oh lord. This would be why mixed metal rings here are often found marked as 9ct SIL then. Or have full hallmarks on just the GOLD , with a SILVER or even platinum stone setting. Of course it's legal. It's nonsense to suggest otherwise, or it would mean the vast majority of British rings were illegal. It isn't a Frankenstein at all, it's a relatively common manufacture.

 

And the majority of assayers would mark illegally.

Absolutely. Anyone who collects antique jewellery comes across these lovelies regularly.

 

I am not amused..........

 

I wouldn't be either, it looked rather condescending to me.
I think your emojis were just expressing the general feeling people had. That's forum life.

 

thanks everyone. this chat thread is certainly lively and interesting. But, I'm still at a loss. Can anyone give me an idea as to how to describe this ring and it's design? If it's a "relatively common manufacture", then what exact period is it? Why do I not see any early 1900's designs like this out there on the web? Why do I only see images of Georgian rings in this style? (Cited from: https://www.antiquers.com/threads/help-dating-an-antique-ring-please.56095/page-3)

 

Martin, the relatively common manufacture means the fact it's mixed metal rather than its style, if that makes sense.

 

Again, I thank everyone for the input, but I'm laughing here! I have no more solid info about this ring than before I created this thread and asked for assistance 3 pages ago. (Cited from: https://www.antiquers.com/threads/help-dating-an-antique-ring-please.56095/page-3)

 

ya win some....ya lose some !
not for lack of trying though............

 

Well, you know about the import mark now, which together with a K mark means it wasn't made in Sweden, and wasn't offered for sale in Sweden before 1913.

In my mind I had it down as a ca 1840s-1860s yellow gold and silver diamond ring (marks aside), until you said parts of it were yellow-plated white gold:

That threw a spanner in the works for me, since white gold wasn't around until much later. From that moment my time frame went out the window, and all bets were off. If there hadn't been any white gold, you would have had your answer.

I think you said later that it tested for yellow gold (no white gold?), which made things even more confusing. Then you went back to yellow plated white gold again. I could have the sequence wrong, but the yellow plated white gold thing is very confusing to me. I still find white gold on this ring hard to believe.

But if you now think it is yellow gold and silver, no white gold, than the dates I mentioned above would be my conclusion.

 

Mornin' OK... yes... got it on the import mark! I'm going to include 2 more photos because not being an expert AT ALL, I want to show you why I made the conclusion of a gold plating over white gold. Maybe what I think is a plating is just what happens to aged gold?!?! I don't know. But, here are pics from the underside of the ring where that engraved flower is. I polished it with a cloth as well, so maybe it is just some kind of tarnishing of gold?!?! and not plating. Thanks again for your time. (Cited from: https://www.antiquers.com/threads/help-dating-an-antique-ring-please.56095/page-3)

 

I don't see any white gold, 18k white gold would be whiter than the silver on this ring. It looks just plain dirty to me.
Did you use a sunshine cloth to polish it? Try alcohol on a q-tip. If that doesn't work, maybe some silverpolish on a q-tip will. Be sure to clean all the polish off afterwards.

 

Oh brother! Such a novice here! It certainly was dirty... and boy did it shine up nice with a bit of silver polish on a q-tip!

Cool, so, early Victorian foil-backed rose cut diamond ring imported to Sweden from who the heck knows where Maybe Norway because of that engraved rose that someone mentioned symbolizes the town of Trondheim, Norway.