Coral & Diamond Ring, ca. 1890
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GUEST:
I ended up bringing my ring that was my grandmother's that I got in 1999. And it just pretty much stays in my jewelry box most of the time. And she got it from her sister, whose husband was an estate attorney in Chicago. So they think that's where it came from. That's all I know about it.
APPRAISER:
The first thing that you notice right away is this material here of the carved face. So that's made out of coral. And what we know is that this ring is Victorian.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
In the Victorian period, which spans the time period from about 1837 to 1901, you see a big use of coral in jewelry. But especially this very high, deep relief. You might see a shell cameo that's much lower.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
The ring is made out of 18-karat gold. That's why it has this nice, rich color in the gold.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
18-karat gold is about 75% pure gold with the other alloys. In the Victorian period in 1840, Prince Albert gave Queen Victoria a snake and emerald ring. Whatever she did, whatever she wore, all the women of the time were watching and followed suit, fashion-wise. So she was a very big influence on fashion. And here you have a ring right out of that period, although I think this ring was probably made in France. There's no hallmarks inside.
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
There's nothing to go by. Over here you see some white metal.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
That's platinum.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Very early use of platinum. And there's two little cabochon emerald eyes.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And then you have some tiny accents of European-cut diamonds. The diamonds, in total, there's about a quarter of a carat.
GUEST:
I was just curious as to if it was costume jewelry or not because she wore a lot of costume jewelry.
APPRAISER:
Oh, did she, yeah?
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's most definitely not costume jewelry. At auction, I would say that this ring would be in there for $2,000 to $3,000.
GUEST:
Wow. So most definitely not costume jewelry.
APPRAISER:
No.
(chuckling)
Appraisal Details
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