19th c Crowned Heart Diamond Ring

A gorgeous c. 1900 crowned double heart ring, set with two pear-shaped rose cut diamonds within a halo and beneath a crown of Old European Cut diamonds, weighing approx. 1.2 ctw, in a Georgian style closed-back foiled setting of silver-topped 18k gold. A closely related design was published in 1900 as design no. 2910 in a catalogue by Mappin & Webb (158-162 Oxford Street, London). Another c.1890 example, of twin hearts formed by pear-shaped diamonds within a halo, is illustrated on p. 258 of “Understanding Jewellery” by David Bennett & Daniela Mascetti. A third example, dated late 19th c and set with diamond and ruby, was sold at Christie’s London, South Kensington (sale 8967 lot 74). Rings of this type are sentimental and amatory in nature, often given as engagement rings to represent the union of two hearts. Although heart shaped jewelry can be traced back to ancient Rome, this specific design—pear-cuts beneath a crown—is based on a c.1730-60 rococo prototype from France (see cat. 188, “Rings: Jewelry of Power, Love, and Loyalty” by Diana Scarisbrick). According to William Jones in “Finger-Ring Lore”, this design was intended for betrothal, and represents “the sovereignty of love over the heart” (p. 307). For instance, the English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning received a diamond crowned heart ring for her betrothal and marriage to fellow poet Robert Browning in 1846. The crown symbol further invokes loyalty and thus marital fidelity; the crown on Scottish luckenbooth (one or two hearts beneath a crown) and the Irish Claddagh (hands clasping a crowned heart) represent devotion and “the reigning of fidelity over a marriage”.
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