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"Baby Boom" Necklace with Eleven Gold Antique American Baby Rings on Black Chain

About the Item

Baby rings were popular sentimental jewelry items in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Babies wore them for their christenings, or for photos, or (ickily) for their funerals, or mothers received them as gifts. Some versions included empty center holes for Baby's first tooth (yuck!). Another popular variation inspired by Queen Victoria was the "spark" ring set with a single tiny diamond -- a metaphor for the spark (baby) who turns into a flame (adult, unless, of course, Baby catches a cold and dies). But most baby rings were thin strips of yellow gold, typically star-set with one or three stones, usually seed pearls or birthstones, plus a bit of hand-engraving or a simple die-struck design. These were basic items in any jeweler's inventory and manufacturers cranked them out by the boatload. We acquired nine of these rings when we bought out the remaining stock of an old San Francisco jewelry shop. All are 10k rose or yellow gold. Four of the rings were made by Otsby & Barton, a New Hampshire firm founded in 1880 (out of business in the 1950s). You can still find a lot of Otsby & Barton jewelry: it's always clearly hallmarked and they were very successful in mass production items like class rings, signet rings, men's pinkie rings, Masonic rings and baby rings. Fun fact: Otsby died on the titanic. So much for "Women and children and jewelers first!" One of the rings is from another old American firm, Dattlebaum & Friedman, founded 1904 in New York. Four of the rings don't have maker's marks but are of very similar designs to the other six. All but one of these rings needed to have some or all stones replaced. Either they were purchased without stones (so that the jeweler could set them himself, with or without a customer's input), or the stones had fallen out or were cracked. (These rings were never used but they weren't stored with much care, either.) We had a field day picking out stones, but we went mostly for traditional (garnet and rubies), throwing in some pearly green prehnite and lapis just for giggles. Best of all, we think, is the ring set with three vivid blue diamonds, mounted upside down. To this collection of unused stock rings are two old baby rings from our own inventory. These are also 10K. One is an Otsby & Barton and the other has no maker's mark. These rings both come with their original stones: seed pearls flanked by rose cut sapphires. So here we are with a collection of 11 baby rings. Recognizing that shoving rings onto baby fingers is no longer the trend it once was (can anyone say "choking hazard?"), we were going to sell them individually as charms, but then we thought it would be cool to just toss them all on a chain to create an absolutely one-of-a-kind necklace. Of course, the rings slide on and off easily, so you can mix and match and arrange the rings any way you want. You can wear the larger rings on your pinkies. You can wear them on your fingertips. You can use them as toe rings. The possibilities are pretty much endless. The black German cable link chain is new, in coated steel with a 14K yellow gold lobster clasp. It's 16" long and 3mm thick. Each ring is identified and described in the last photo of our array. Here is a summary: Ring weights: 0.45 grams to 1 gram Total weight of all rings: 7.7 grams Chain weight: 6.4 grams Necklace weight: 14.1 grams Ring sizes: less than 1.5 to 3.75 Rings with purity marks: 10 (the unstamped ring tests 10K) Rings with maker's marks: 6 rings Seed pearls: 4 (all original) Sapphire rose cuts: 4 (all original) Emerald rose cut: 1 (original) Ruby cabochons: 5 (new) Garnet cabochons: 7 (2 original) Prehnite cabochons: 3 (new) Lapis cabochons: 2 (new) Faceted blue diamonds: 5 -- 0.08 carats (new) Total new stones: 20 (0.35 carats) Total original seed pearls & stones: 11

Metal:

Stainless Steel,Yellow Gold,Rose Gold,14k Gold,10k Gold,Gold

Stone:

Pearl,Blue Sapphire,Ruby,Lapis Lazuli,Garnet,Emerald,Blue Diamond

Stone Cut:

Cabochon

Weight:

7.7 g

Dimensions:

Length: 16 in (406.4 mm)

Style:

Victorian

Place of Origin:

United States

Period:

Early 20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

2022

Condition:

Replacements made: The chain is new. All but two of the baby rings are unused stock pieces, many with new/replacement stones. The two pre-owned rings have their original stones but they both show stress lines on their bands. Wear consistent with age and use.

Seller Location:

Sherman Oaks, CA

Reference Number:

Seller: FD03751stDibs: LU1673116230342

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