Gold Buckle Ring, English Antique, with full hallmarks: Maker’s Mark KBSP; 9 and 375 stamps for 9ct Gold; an anchor designating Birmingham as the assay office; a lower case “t” to represent the year 1918.

Victorian England appreciated symbolism: the coiled snake for eternal love; ivy leaf to represent friendship; the heart padlock another sign of love, etc etc. The buckle design served as a symbol of partnership, of friendship and devotion, and of security, protection.

Note: though the above Gold Buckle Ring was assayed and stamped in the tear 1918, it may well have been handcrafted some years before that. By the year 1918 many of the English bench jewellers capable of creating such fine work and such cleanly incised hand-carving had not returned from the Great War, and it is very possible that the ring was made five or more years previous and simply lay in a box for years before being presented to the Birmingham  assay office.