Catalog: Antiques: Decorative Art: Jewelry: English (86)

Late renaissance memento mori skull ring. "Memento mori" jewelry translates to "remember thou must die", a reminder to all to live life fully, as death awaits. Memento mori rings were meant to encourage the practice of reflection on one's mortality. This is a very early ring with black enamel etching along the sides and back and a perfectly shaped skull in intaglio on the front. The ring is silver gilt with black enamel carving. Circa 1620. US size 8 1/2.

Georgian almandine garnet ring circa 1770, in an 18K gold basket setting flanked by two cushion cut diamonds. Almandine garnets are purply red and were flat cut as seen here. This lovely early ring is a size 6 1/4 and the stone measures 5/8" wide by 1/4" high

Original eighteenth century Chelsea Seal in the form of a grotesque figure of a black masked man with 3 cornered ("tri-corn") hat. The tri-cornered hat was a popular hat worn in the 18th century by both aristocracy and commoners, as it was designed to better reveal one's highly fashionable wig. Our male figure is in black breeches, standing on a white base with the motto "Tou jour gay" ("always happy")...

Exquisite Georgian verre églomisé, or gilded glass, portrait ring surrounded by seed pearls. Verre églomisé is a French term meaning gilded glass and is a decorative technique in which the back side of glass is gilded with gold leaf. The gilding may also be combined with reverse painting on glass as in this case. This ring has very large verre églomisé panel with a black silhouette of a peasant girl against a gilded background...

Antique marquise shaped 18K gold and chrysoberyl ring is an excellent example of Portuguese jewelry of the late 18th century. The Portuguese mined these gemstones from their colony in Brazil and created jewelry that was typically pave-set as seen here. The ring is size 10 and can be sized to fit.

Amazing "Queen Anne" amethyst paste necklace and earrings set in gilt metal. This style of jewelry has been historically misnamed for Queen Anne, who reigned from 1695 to 1714, as it was made in the mid 18th century. The vivid purple paste stones used are faceted as rose cuts. The earrings have back to front fittings and fit close to the earlobe. The necklace is fastened with a ribbon.

Marquis shaped memorialized ring of plaited hair set in 18K yellow gold with the initials LC in gold. The underside of the ring is engraved B.L.C. ob Nov 10 1789 aet 37;. The ring is a size 5 1/2 and due to its small size it was likely worn by the wife of the deceased as a memento while he traveled. The ring measures 1 1/4 at its widest. A wonderful piece honoring love.

Georgian 18K gold memorial ring set under crystal with a curl of hair and adorned with four rose diamonds. The inscription reads "John Holman ob 28 Oct 1777 age 45. This exquisite ring is a testament to the feelings of this man's loved ones. The ring is a size 8 and can be resized. It measures 5/8" wide by 3/4" high.

our early C1790 Georgian 18K seven stone diamond half hoop ring has seven table-cut diamonds (flat on top, faceted sides). The ring is closed back and the diamonds are foiled backed, exactly the way gemstone rings were made in the Georgian period. The diamonds are mounted in silver and set in gold, as the Georgians believed silver was better suited to set off the cool white tones of diamonds. This ring would make a lovely engagement ring or gift to oneself. The ring is a size 7.

8K eighteenth-century portrait ring under crystal of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. Miniature portraits were painted on vellum or ivory and given as tokens of love to husbands and wives or parents and children. Portrait rings with diamond bezels, such as ours, reflect the importance of the subject. The paintings would be commissioned to the leading miniature portrait artists of the day. Sarah Churchill had a close friendship with Queen Anne of England...

Utilizing the natural features of the blush and gray speckled agate with a lovely mottled appearance and demonstrating the fine carving that this circle of Italian carvers were known for, our ring is a sensitive portrayal of Sappho, an early poetess who came of age in the time of the Ancient Greeks in the Archaic period. The quality of the carving is reminiscent of the circle of carvers in Rome during the mid eighteenth century which included Anton Pichler and his sons Giovanni and Luigi...

Exceptional mourning band of the Regency period, with stripes of black enamel bordered with gold trim sandwiched between chased floral borders. The inscription reads "Mrs. Anne Smith Cunninghame of Caprington died 1st of March 1830." on the inside. The Scottish origin of the name Cunningham of Caprington along with the prefix "Mrs." tells us this ring was made in loving memory of a beloved Scottish wife...

These lovely 18K day-night floral gold cannetille earrings boast one of the finest examples of cannetille gold work we have ever seen. Popular in both England and France in the 1820's, cannetille was a type of filigree work named after the gold embroideries of the Napoleonic era. It lasted for a brief 2 decades, making it easy to date a piece of jewelry that is as fine an example of cannetille as these...

With a Latin inscription translated as "Under a clear sky France suffers", this 18K Carnelian fob seal depicts an African slave in profile, carved atop a family crest, all shown above a ribbon banner reading "PURUM PATIENTIA FRANCE". Notwithstanding the word "France" in the inscription, our wax seal fob is English. The seal harkens back to the British abolitionist movement in France, during which time the British people actively sought to pressure the French to abolish slavery...

This wonderful lava ring was sold in Naples to travelers on the Grand Tour as souvenir jewelry in the 1820’s to 40's after the discovery of the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the 18th century. Made by Pompeian stone cutters, each of the seven round heads of the ring is distinctly carved and is of a different hue as well as a different mythological figure and comes from a different organic material sourced from Vesuvius...

Amazing "Queen Anne" amethyst paste earrings set in gilt metal. This style of jewelry has been historically misnamed for Queen Anne, who reigned from 1695 to 1714, as so called Queen Anne jewelry dates to the mid 18th century. The vivid purple paste stones used are faceted as rose cuts. The earrings have back to front fittings and fit close to the earlobe. There is a matching necklace sold separately.

Georgian 18K gold cannetille work ring set with a carved turquoise in the shape of a pair of clasped hands, a symbol of friendship. On either side there are set an opal and a garnet. This is truly an unusual and rare ring. It is a size 7 and measures a bit over 1/4" at its widest.

Early Victorian or late Georgian half hoop 7 stone ring with 7 well matched turquoise stones set in cabochon, with the largest turquoise in the center and each stone graduated in size, as is typical of a hand carved Georgian ring. The borders of each stone are crimped, an attractive detail. The shoulders of the ring are chased in a lovely hand carved pattern. The back of the stones reveal lovely hand carved gold work. The ring can be sized up or down within reason.

A lovely pair of white paste earrings closed back set in silver gilt. Approximately 18 MM or .7 inches in width, these well scaled earrings can be dressed up or down. Made of "paste", a special glass and lead formula originating from George Ravenscroft, a London glassmaker, during the 17th century and perfected by a French jeweler Georges Strass in the 18th century. Each "paste" was handcarved to fit the setting. Paste has become very collectible and desirable and can no longer be made today...

Colorful depiction of a peasant girl graces this micromosaic brooch purchased during the Grand Tour and brought back to England to be set in an elaborate 18K bezel decorated with grapes and leaves. The glass tesserae are set in malachite.

Dramatic Georgian faceted paste single stone ring set in silver and backed in 18K. The ring is nicely engraved at the shoulders with an 18K band. The carved paste is set in silver, which was believed to be better suited to set off the cool tones of the "diamond" stone...

Dramatic 18K gold marquis shaped ring in royal blue and white enameling surrounded by pearls and centered with a pearl pansy. This distinctly English style of enameling on jewelry was invented in 1775 and became popular with royalty and is often seen on jewelry displaying royal crowns.

This wonderful 18K Scottish fob features an imposing tower, the symbol for the Mason family crest. The fob is carved with a motto which reads "Demeure Par La Verite" and translates to "Keep Fast By the Truth". Keep fast by the truth is rooted in the bible: from the Gospel of John, it means remain faithful to the word of God and one will be rewarded with a fruitful life...

Three inch long day-night earrings with a lovely rococo design that incorporates foliate and shell motifs set with Persian turquoise and enlivened by the two-color 15K gold. The earrings have a secure hook on the back of the drop part of the earring, not typically seen on Georgian day-night earrings. This enables enabling them to easily be separated and worn with just the tops (for day), or both top and bottom (at night). The mechanism attaching the two pieces can be viewed in the photos.

Our muff chain is known as "pinchbeck" and has a wonderful hand clasp with a diminutive emerald paste ring on the hand and a charming carved ruffled sleeve at the end of the hand clasp. We love “jewelry wearing jewelry” and the hand clasp with its fingernails and green paste ring can only be described as quintessentially Georgian. The links of the chain are embossed with textural dots. While our Georgian pinchbeck long chain was used in its day to hold one's muff, today one wears it for ...

15K gold fede or love ring with two hands coming together to enclose a gold heart with a single rose-cut diamond embedded in a carved star at the center. The word "fede" means faith. The clasped hands motif has been used since Roman times. The ring is US size 8.25.

This amethyst ring is a striking example of gold-work decoration that became popular in the second decade of the 19th century. A type of filigree work known as "cannetile" and named for the gold embroideries of the Napoleonic years, cannetile work made the most of a small amount of gold and required highly skilled goldsmiths. The amethyst stone is particularly eye-catching. The combination of the cannetile work next to the amethyst makes this an extraordinary ring. The ring is a US size 6.

Victorian Pietra Dura earrings of a butterfly, set in 9K gold. Pietra dura is a form of micro-mosaic made with pieces of hard stone such as agate, and cemented into black marble. It is also known as Florentine mosaic as Florence, Italy was the center of manufacture of these wonderful pieces. Red is a particularly rare color to find in Pietra dura. The earrings are set onto 14K ear wires.

Lava cameo brooch of Demeter (known to the Romans as Ceres) with a crown of wheat sheaves in her hair. The gold openwork bezel is of 12K and is pointed around the frame, a nice detail, and rather unusual, on the gold work. The brooch was possibly a souvenir from Italy acquired by a traveler on the European Grand Tour. There is an unreadable signature scratched into the reverse of the cameo. The goddess of agriculture, Demeter was perhaps the most important as she made everything grow and ripe...

This is a long silver watch chain with alternating lengths of longer and shorter fetter links. For the better part of the nineteenth century, chains were fashioned laboriously using hand-working skills. A fetter link refers to a longer link which was used to reduce the number of links needed to fabricate a chain, thereby cutting down on the labor. The longer links are polished smooth while the shorter links have an interesting texture. If you appreciate chains that are fully fabricated by ...

Lovely 18K stone coral ring with 8 small diamonds. Five stone rings were classic Victorian forms. Our ring has smooth polished cabachon coral stones and ten small perfect flat cut diamonds at each corner. During Victorian times and earlier, coral was believed to have mystical properties and to ward off illness. The rose pink color was the most sought after. The ring is a size 8 and can be sized.

Authentic Murphy family crest ring, complete with the motto and crest, all artfully carved in bloodstone (bloodstone is a dark green variety of chalcedony with red specks). The Lion Rampant stands in profile at the top holding a wheat sheath between his paws, the crest sits below and the banner with Latin motto Fortis et hospitales adorns the bottom of the ring face. The wheat is representative of abundance and the lion of strength and bravery. Irish crests always include a shield and a motto in...

Our glass earrings, in the form of a Latin crosses, are made of Vauxhall glass, popular as jewelry in the 1860's and sold along the pleasure Gardens in Chelsea, where courting couples strolled on summer evenings. Made by skilled artisans who were employed by the Vauxhall Glass Company in an effort to make use of the leftover glass shards from the mirror glass they produced, the jewelry was much loved for the skillful carving of the glass into unique and creative forms. Crosses, animal, and insec...

Wonderfully painted enamel ring depicting the love between Cupid and Psyche, the universal symbol of everlasting love. The ancient Greeks viewed the butterfly as a symbol of the immortality of the soul. The painting on the enamel ring shows the goddess Psyche, which means "soul" or "spirit", in the form of the butterfly, being chased by Cupid. The ring is 18K, circa 1910, size 6.5 and can be sized.

English Victorian buckle ring in 9K and a sterling silver buckle, c1890. The contrast of the two metals is sophisticated and smart looking. The 9K band has an interesting texture, perhaps imitating shagreen. Buckle imagery was used in the Victorian and Edwardian eras to symbolize fidelity and eternal love.Suitable for a man or woman. The ring is a size 11 3/4.

Double box link original Victorian watch chain terminating in a dog clip stamped 9 carat, this unusual watch chain with its faceted box links attached to one another reveals on close inspection an additional twisted link around each box link, adding interest and glamour to a simple box link watch chain. The link has a slightly yellow gold cast. Note in the photos the detail of the faceted box links as well as the additional twisted link. The chain looks terrific when paired with others and a...