c. 1900 GIA-certified No Heat Natural Burmese Sapphire Ring

A late 19th – early 20th c solitaire ring, set with a no-heat natural Burmese sapphire (GIA report 2221591966) cabochon weighing approx. 3.02 ct, the solid 18k yellow gold setting worked in a trenched or grooved belcher style popular during the turn of the century. Similar rings are illustrated in the 1898 catalogue from Moore & Evans (design no. 2690, 2680, 2678), as well as the 1901 catalogue from The Goldsmiths and Silversmiths company (no. 21, 717). A slightly later variant of the Victorian buttercup, the belcher setting features a scalloped claw gallery with smooth, beveled, or parallel grooved shoulders. The present ring is most likely Danish in workmanship origin, bearing a hallmark that resembles late 19th c assays for the city of Aarhus, as well as an initial based Warden’s mark (in use 1863-1988). The natural sapphire is a lovely medium-deep blue with a faint violet undertone. Despite its translucency, under direct light it displays an asterism ‘star’ effect, the optical result of fine rutile silk inclusions gemologically representative of ‘prestige’ historic corundum sources like Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Burma (Myanmar). The stone additionally has a faint smattering of tiny iridescent platelet silks more exclusively associated with Burmese sapphires. A ‘spider’s web’ silk pattern is also visible from the cabochon back, so shaped due to the sapphire’s trigonal structure and tendency to grow in nature as bipyramidal/hexagonal rough crystals. These natural inclusions contribute to a soft, gauzy translucency sometimes called “sleepy” in the gem trade. In moderate amounts, natural rutile silks in sapphire improve the appearance of stones via light diffusion and is considered a desirable characteristic; it also helps gemologists separate heat-treated stones from the no-heat naturals, as high temperature treatment tends to destroy silk inclusions by dissolving them into the crystal lattice.
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