Circa 1900 a rare antique Whitby jet mourning ring hailing from the late Victorian era.
The ring is carved as a graduated band with a dome at the front that is inlaid with a miniature silver devotional medallion of a grieving saint, possibly St. Joseph, he looks like he is carrying a child. The medallion is framed by inlaid paste (glass) diamonds and tiny silver beads. The silver beading and glass stones give a starry sky effect to the front of the ring that is very attractive and it comes along with the antique red ring box
Condition of the ring, given age is quite remarkable, the jet is free of nicks or chips and the stones are securely set in and still super sparkly with no yellowing. The outside of the ring is polished to a high shine and it is still deep intense black and glossy.
The inside of the ring is less well finished so it looks a little rougher and organic under magnification, this is typical of Victorian jet jewellery manufacture and something you would want to see in a genuine piece. The band has worn slightly thinner at the back due to extended wear over a long period of time, a charming indicator of age and that this ring has been lovingly worn.
The ring is featherweight as you would expect with Whitby jet. Not to be confused with French Jet, which is glass, Whitby Jet, a fossilized mineral gemstone millions of years old that is only found in and around the cliffs at Whitby, a seaside hamlet in England. It looks like plastic when polished and is warm to the touch, rather like amber but a deep opaque black.
A fabulous piece and a very special example of unusual Victorian Whitby jet jewellery, a rare addition to your antique religious or mourning jewellery collection!
MATERIALS: Whitby jet, silver
GEMSTONE: paste (glass) diamonds
DATE: Victorian, circa 1900
MEASUREMENTS: width 11.5mm at the front tapering to 3mm at the back. Ring size M - UK, 6-1/4 US
WEIGHT: 1.4 grams
CONDITION: The ring is in very, very good antique condition with no issues. The antique ring box is in aged condition with some dirt and staining as you would expect but nothing untoward. It is printed inside the lid with the retailers name and address "Francis Louis, 14-15 Fredrick St., Rotherham" The exterior of the ring box is covered in ox blood red paper that is scuffed.
Each item in our shop is carefully hand selected by us, for you. The jewelry pieces we offer are old treasures and we rarely find two identical, once they are gone, they are truly gone and you may never find another!
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