This very wonderful early ring came from a long time collector of Georgian Jewelry. It has a circa date of 1750.
The ring is a design called “A Witch’s Heart” which in the 1700’s it was a romantic symbol meaning –“You Bewitched Me” or “You are Bewitching to Me”!
The ring is set with 10 rose cut, hand cut diamonds that are hand set in 18 karat rose gold. The Rose Cut Diamonds surrounding the center diamond are 10 points each which is I carat of diamond in the outside gemstones. The center Diamond is .50 point of a Rose Cut Diamond. This makes the total diamond weight (t.d.w.) at 1.50 carats. The gemstones are set in 18 karat rose gold and the back of the setting that holds the diamonds is solid.
After hearing someone asks an expert on TV the other day if diamonds were first used about the time of our Civil War, I wanted to give a bit of background on the diamond gemstone.
Diamonds, known for over 3000 years, were probably first found in India as loose stones associated with the sand and gravel of riverbeds For centuries they were thought to possess magical powers, no doubt because of their hardness and luster, and were kept, uncut, as sacred objects or important treasures of state by the religious and political leaders of the day. Being regarded as talismans, it was thought that they would lose their powers if they were altered in any way. It wasn't until the 11th century that diamonds were first worn, in their uncut form, as adornments. However, with the use of diamonds in jewelry, sometime in the 13th century it became known that a diamond's appearance could be enhanced by grinding and polishing of the rough crystal. This was achieved by polishing with diamond dust at angles varying slightly from those of the original octahedral faces to form a point cut. A major advance in faceting came about with the introduction of the polishing wheel, in the middle of the 14th century. This led the way for brighter diamonds with increased facet pattern complexity. In this same era the rose cut appeared. Rose cut diamonds were very popular in the 18th century. During the early 18th century, Brazil, the new center of world diamond production, gave rise to the old-mine cut, a forerunner of the modern brilliant cut having 33 crown and 25 pavilion facets, the same 58 facets as today's round brilliants.
This diamond ring is in wonderful condition and the band is very strong. In the time in which this ring was made the gold is mixed with Platinum as an allow to make the gold stronger. The process was time intensive and labor intensive and was not done after the 19th century. The size is now 6 1/2 and can be resized it needed, without diminishing the value. This is a ring that is approximately 260 years old. The ring is a great investment.