Exceptional Rose-cut Diamond And Black Enamel Ring. Western Europe, C.1680–1700.

Exceptional rose-cut diamond and black enamel ring.

Western Europe, circa 1680–1700.

Measurements: ring size M ½ (UK) / 6.5 (US) / 53 (EU).

Weight: 3.73 grams.

The central diamond measures 6.7 x 6.4mm.

Visible height from girdle to top facet approximately 2.2mm.

The diamond has been estimated to spread approximately one carat.

Materials: high-carat gold, silver collets, rose-cut diamonds, black enamel.

A late 17th-century gold ring worked to a high standard of finish. The bezel comprises a graduated group of rose-cut diamonds set in closed silver collets, the large central stone flanked to either side by smaller rose cuts arranged in a bow-like formation. The use of silver mounts is a deliberate optical practice: the pale metal increases the apparent brilliance and perceived size of the rose cuts when viewed from the table, while the closed (backed) settings protect the culets and stabilise the stones within the bezel.

The plain gold shank is engraved with lightly modelled foliate ornament and retains traces of black enamel. The reverse of the bezel is set with black enamel applied within a series of recessed cells — a concealed polychrome treatment commonly reserved for fine work of the period and a mark of careful finishing. The gold shank bears the France ‘Hibou’ (owl) duty mark, indicating 18-carat gold and importation.

The ring’s combination of rose-cut diamonds in silver collets, concealed enamel on the reverse and the restrained foliate engraving situates it firmly within the ornamental vocabulary of the Baroque jeweller in the late 17th century.y