Enchanting Antique Opal & Diamond Ring in Gold, England c. 1900

Dream of Albion

Enchanting Antique Opal & Diamond Ring in Gold, England c. 1900

€ 1,980.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Description

This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!

England, the country on the other side of the English Channel, was known as "Albion" on our side of the sea for many centuries. It is not entirely clear where this word comes from. It could be Celtic, or it could go back to the Latin "albus", meaning "white". After all, it is the bright chalk cliffs of Dover that herald the land on the other side of the water from France. But perhaps it is also the fog, which so often lies over the green hills of England, enticing and at the same time concealing, that gave the country its name. As a half-transparent, half-opaque veil, it drapes over the small villages, castles and manor houses like a long robe that only occasionally allows a glimpse into a strange world. This ring, which was created in England around 1900, presents us with three high-quality Australian precious opals in its center. The stones, cut into cabochons, are misty and colourful, as one would expect from opals. They flash with blue, green and red sparks, the famous opal light for which the stones are so famous. Six small diamonds are set between and next to the opals, enhancing the opals' play of colours with small highlights. The goldsmith has succeeded in making the ring face beautifully compact and flat so that the ring is comfortable to wear. We discovered the ring, which still brings a smile to our faces today, in London.

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Australia's minefields are famous for the most beautiful opals in the world. But did you know that pieces of jewellery with Australian precious opals have not been around that long? The first European to discover opals in Australia was the German geologist Johannes Menge. He found opals north of Adelaide in 1841 - but little attention was paid to these finds, as they were not precious opals of jewellery quality. The first precious opal finds are not documented until 1872. Commercial mining then began in Queensland in the 1890s. Further opal fields were discovered in Lightning Ridge in 1905, in Coober Pedy in 1915 and in Andamooka in 1930. The stones from Lightning Ridge in particular enjoy an almost legendary reputation. The so-called "flashfire" effects can be found in them. This is the name given to the property of some opals to emit lightning-like colour reflections and to produce new, exciting colour images with every new incidence of light. Before the discovery of precious opals in Australia, the opal mines in Dubník, Hungary, were the only European mine for precious opals. Due to the discovery of Australian opal deposits, the Dubník mines, which had mainly produced small stones since the 15th century, were unable to keep up with the market and were shut down in 1922. Important finds and pieces of jewellery with Hungarian opals can be seen today in the Natural History Museum in Vienna and the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest.

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Size & Details

Dream of Albion

€ 1,980.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Our Promise

We want you to be 100% satisfied! For that reason, we examine, describe and photograph all of our jewellery with the utmost care.

You can rely on our years of experience in the trade and our expertise as a professional art historians for reviews of the antique jewellery. As a member of various trade organisations and the British Society of Jewellery Historians, we remain committed to the highest possible degree of accuracy. In our descriptions, we always also indicate any signs of age and defects and never hide them in our photos – this saves you from any unpleasant surprises when your package arrives.

Should you for some reason not be satisfied, please don’t hesitate to contact us so that we can find a solution together. In any case, you can return any article within one month and we will refund the full purchase price.

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Dream of Albion

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