c.1760-70 Late Rococo Rose Cut Diamond Heart Ring

A c.1760-70 late Rococo heart shaped diamond cluster ring, set with a 7.6 x 5.9 mm pear-shaped rose cut diamond (approx. 0.8 ct) within a halo of 10 smaller rose cut diamonds (together approx. 1.15 ctw), the setting worked in 18k yellow gold. Likely Flemish or Germanic in origin, the ring features a smooth convex posterior not uncommon with continental rings made during this period, along with typically Rococo fleur-de-lys openwork shoulders and a scrollwork shank. Similarly trifurcated shoulders connecting to a scrolled shank can be seen on a pear heart cluster ring in the State Historical Museum, Moscow (ОК 9586). With the exception of flat cuts or cabochons, nearly all 18th century faceted gemstone jewels representing a heart were rendered in a pear shape, largely due to historic gem-cutting inability to create brilliant-type faceted gems with a pronounced cleft (the brilliant clefted heart cut would not emerge until the late 19th c). The equivalence of the pear shape with a heart is supported by pear-shaped gems and clusters with heart-themed motifs, such as the crowned heart rings illustrated in “Le Grand Frisson” by Diana Scarisbrick (see p. 199 for a pear cluster crowned heart) or pear-heart shaped Stuart crystal pendants (for example, Royal Collection Trust RCIN 43841). The present ring face bears great similarity to the central cluster element of a Vlaams hart (a Flemish jewel representing the heart of Mary) in the Rijksmuseum (inv BK-1967-2); both feature a pear-shaped rose cut within a graduated halo of ten additional stones, all in a typically rococo cut-down collet setting with rounded ‘tips’. Based on three-part symmetry, the rose cut is always faceted in multiples of 3, the most common historic variations being 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 facets. Both the Rijksmuseum cluster and the present ring feature a 24-facet central rose cut, which is also described by Herbert Tillander as a “full” rose cut. Like the present example, good quality 18th c full rose cuts feature tall crowns with a nearly pointed profile, the height retaining up to 50-70% of the girdle width.
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