Large Ring with Amethyst and Rock Crystals in Silver and Gold, c. 1840

A Blaze of Colour

Large Ring with Amethyst and Rock Crystals in Silver and Gold, c. 1840

€ 1,290.00 ^*

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!

Neo-classical fashion, as well as the tense atmosphere during the Napoleonic Wars, had called for simplicity and restraint at the beginning of the 19th century. Ladies mindful of good decorum wore only a few miniature portraits set in gold, cameos made of Wedgwood porcelain, or even iron. After the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, however, a change set in, and a fresh appetite for colours and shimmering gemstones revitalized fashion. Golden and pink topazes, bright green emeralds, and violet amethysts lent the jewellery of the post-Napoleonic era a lively character. These were complemented by ornamental openwork settings crafted of lustrous gold. This ring also bears witness to this revived appetite for colour and volume. At its center is a large amethyst in a pinched setting. Unlike just a few decades earlier, the gemstone is set à jour, allowing plenty of light to reach it. It is surrounded by a frame of sparkling, colourless stones—these are not diamonds but rock crystals. Thanks to their closed settings and the foil backing, at first glance they resemble old-cut diamonds, which—back then, before the discovery of South African diamond deposits—were significantly more expensive and rarer than they would become toward the end of the 19th century. Like diamonds, they are set in silver, which does not dull their colour. The rose-gold shoulders of the ring are split and shaped into elegant curves, intended to evoke 18th-century designs: It is no coincidence that mid-19th-century jewellery, fashion, and even architecture are often referred to as a “second Rococo.” When the ring came to us, it was structurally sound, but the foils had become heavily tarnished due to the passage of time and environmental factors. We had our specialized gemstone setter remove the rock crystals, clean the settings, and replace the foils before having the original stones reset. As a result, the ring now shines again just as it did nearly two hundred years ago—and our skilled artisans got to work once again with the historical techniques perfected back then.

Size & Details

A Blaze of Colour

€ 1,290.00 ^*

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.

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A Blaze of Colour

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