c.1740-60 Georgian Rococo Diamond Ring

A mid-18th century Rococo diamond ring, c. 1740-60, the center with a lozenge cluster of old English star cut diamonds, supported by two additional diamonds (one old English star, the other a Peruzzi) at the shoulders with open scrollwork ornaments, together weighing approx. 1.89 ctw, the setting silver-topped 18k yellow gold. A design drawing by Francesco Sala, dated 20 Nov 1741, shows a very similar ring with a four-stone lozenge center, along with typically Rococo features shared by the present ring (Llibres de Passanties vol. III no. 954, ill. 9). These features—a rayed ring posterior, ‘c’ curl head-to-shoulder connections, separation seam between head & bezel, grooved shoulder-to-shank junction—are echoed by most Rococo rings made during the mid 18th c., and can be seen in several rings in the Koch Collection (cat. 953, 952, 950). The present ring can be interpreted as a variant of the classic Rococo trilogy (for example, Walters Art Museum 57.1778), swapping out the center oval stone for a larger cluster lozenge shape. A mourning ring in the Victoria & Albert Museum, dated 1742, features very similar workmanship in its lozenge cluster head, with four diamonds tightly set within a rub-over bezel sparingly ‘tipped’ at critical junctures. The V&A ring and the 1741 Llibres de Passanties drawing suggest the present ring could have been made as early as the 1740s decade. English origin is supported by the neat setting workmanship and by the diamonds, cut in a style described as ‘Old English Star’ or ‘Old English Square’ by Herbert Tillander (p. 182, Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewellery 1381-1910). Associated with the diamond cutters of London, the ‘Old English star’ is an early-mid 18th c cushion-type old brilliant with 34 facets (more than the 24-facet rose, but less than the 58-facet old mine cut), and can be identified by the distinctive 8-corner star pattern to the crown and pavilion.
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