Description
Date: 1864, mid-Victorian era
Size: USA 8.25, UK P 1/2, EU 57
Materials: 15k gold, agate, pearl, amethyst, paste or resin
Weight: 4 grams
Marks:
– [15 .625] for solid 15k gold
– [i] letter stamp for the year 1864
– [lion head] for the London assay office
Dimension of ring face: 14 x 14 mm floral square
Height of ring face: 7.8 mm
Width of shank: 4 mm
Thickness of shank: 0.75 – 0.8 mm
Condition: Three of the inlaid agate panels do not test as agate, suggesting they are later replacements cast out of paste or hard resin. The colors of these replacement panels match well to the original and are hard to detect without serious scrutiny. The amethyst is set with seven individual prongs; one of these small prongs is missing, meaning the stone has six prongs currently. The stone is however secure. The back of the ring face has bits of old Victorian-era solder; it is likely that the ring was once designed with removable and interchangeable ring faces, but a previous owner decided to solder the preferred ring face permanently with the setting/shank. Finally, as per old antique rings, there are age-related surface wear to the gold (including several shallow scratches on the reverse side of the ring face).