Reserved. Georgian, 18ct Gold, Pink Rock Crystal Five-Stone Ring – Vintage Ring – Antique Ring Boutique

Pink Foiled Rock Crystal Ring. This charming mid 19th century ring is set with a sequence of five graduated oval faceted rock crystals, which are set in closed back settings lined with pink foil. Any jeweller will tell you that matching stones perfectly for size and colour is a very difficult task indeed, but in the 18th and 19th centuries, when mining techniques were still developing and some of the world’s largest deposits had yet to be discovered, gemstones were generally in much shorter supply than they are today, and it made finding matching stones infinitely more difficult. Jewellers, however, had a clever solution – by lining the closed-back settings of rock crystal and paste stones with coloured foil, they could create rich, beautiful, well-matched colour combinations, that sometimes even outshone the stones they were imitating. It is likely that these pink-foiled rock crystals were imitating pink topaz, which was immensely popular in the first half of the 19th century. Finished with a beaded border and intricate strands of twisted gold rope, this jewel is also redolent of the trend for archaeologically-inspired jewels that took hold in the 1860s, making it a wonderful and very wearable addition to any jewellery historian’s collection.

 Why I love it…

“ This is a rare little treasure, in remarkable condition for a ring that is approximately 250 years old. The craftsmanship is extraordinary; the gold cannetille gold detail is twisted spirally like a fine embroidery. But, what I love most about this ring is the pink foiling! The stones are most likely imitating the much-coveted stone of that time; pink topaz. This is a very special ring. ”

– Sammy, Founder

Rock Crystals