Year 1883 Antique English Turquoise and Pearl 9ct Gold ring, hallmark stamped in Birmingham in that year. 141 years passed since it was checked in the Birmingham assay offices, and in very good condition, all its claws intact, its engraving still crisp, its Turquoise and Pearl gemstones original. It is, of course, crafted entirely by hand.
Sometimes one comes across an old piece of jewellery that has never been worn, for whatever reason; the above Year 1883 Antique has definitely been worn, with a couple of its stamps showing slightly blurred, but it must always have been treated with considerable care.
The Turquoise predates by far any trans-Atlantic American Turquoise business and is definitely from the ancient fabled mines of this gemstone in eastern Persia ; one of the eight little bright blue gemstones has darkened to a green-blue over time.
And the five Pearls, of very good quality, Baroque (i.e. irregular in shape) and still retaining excellent lustre, predate by far the post-WWII Japanese innovation of “cultured” Pearls; these five Pearls are totally natural, sourced either from the waters off Bahrein, or from the streams of coastal Scotland.