Vintage Tom An antique sapphire ring

A vintage dress ring containing three large oval sapphires. The centre stone measures 10x8mm (c 3 carats) each side a 7x6mm sapphire (c 0.85 carats). The colour of these stones are mid blue, often referred to a cornflower blue sapphires. The origin is usually Sri Lanka.

The head is hand carved and the ring is vintage from around the beginning of the 20th century and much in the 'Victorian' style, being boat shaped, measuring 19x11mm, depth 4mm, weight 6.4grams. From the side the scrolling is observed.

Size P, we can resize free of charge but around 2 sizes either way.

The ring tests as 18 carat gold, but no hallmarks were legally required for this period. With the naked eye the sapphires seem very clear and have good clarity. However when viewed under an eyeglass one can view natural inclusions which are often referred to as striations or rutile silk.

Natural rutile silk inclusions in a sapphire can actually improve the colour. These are the fine, rutile needles that create the sleepy transparency of some sapphires. They appear in groups and look like striations in the stone; for this reason they are often referred to as needles.

So when viewing the stones in this ring these inclusions are not easily observed, however one can be more sure that there has been no heat treatment to the stones as natural inclusions would prove this. This is a handmade ring and the sapphires are not a perfect size match as probably were brought back from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in the early part of the last century and then reset for the customer at that time so one must be aware before purchase that this ring is handmade and not from a jewellers stock.

Age or Designation

Early 20th Century

Precious Stone

sapphire

Ring Size

P

Metal Type

Gold