c. 1750-80 Georgian Half Hoop Quartz Ring

A lovely c. 1750-80 English half-hoop ring, featuring five old cushion cut quartz crystals in foiled closed back cut-down collet settings, in a silver topped rose gold mounting so wonderfully typical of the late rococo period, with its openwork gallery, distinct “c” curl head-to-shoulder junctions, rayed ring butt, and grooved shoulder-to-shank junctions. A charming black dot has been painted to the culet of each quartz— a common Georgian foiling practice, to enhance the visual depth of stones and to imitate the deep well-like culets of old mine cut diamonds. A similar five stone half-hoop from the same period, with a color stone center, is illustrated on p. 32 of “Georgian Jewellery 1714-1830” by Ginny Redington Dawes with Olivia Collings. An all diamond ring of this form, c. 1750, is in the Victoria & Albert Museum (inv. M.20-1996). For c. 1760 rococo rings with similar setting structure, refer to cat. 950, 952, 953 from “Rings: Alice and Louis Koch Collection” by Anna Beatriz Chadour. Due to their age and delicate construction, rings of this type often survive with repairs or details rubbed out. The present ring is an example in a lovely state of preservation, with the quartz foiling bright and details crisp.
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