Scarce 19th Century South Indian Gold Snake Twin Gimmel Ring Sapphire Emerald

A rare late 19th century gem-set princely gold cluster ring made in Siam (Thailand). This gorgeous and colourful gem-set cluster ring is intricately crafted in high-karat gold, by the goldsmiths of the Siam court in the 19th century. The centre features a rose cut diamond in a rubber gold setting which is riveted to the body of the ring which is visible from the underside, a feature typical of 18th and 19th century Siam rings . It is surrounded by a halo of rubies, garnets and diamonds, with emeralds on the shoulders. The thick gold band features pierced scrollwork motifs and is stamped with a French gold import mark from when it was later brought into the country. This ring is a fine example of the lavish adornment worn by participants in royal and aristocratic life-cycle ceremonies in the courts of Bangkok. Aside from ceremonial use, they were also occasionally given as gifts to important visitors or other aristocratic families. Examples of these lavish jewels being worn can be seen on old photos and paintings of life-cycle ceremonies such as the Royal Tonsure Ceremony, also known as ‘the cutting of the top-knot’ ceremony, which marked the transition into adulthood for all of the (many!) sons and daughters of the Siam royal family. The huge expansion in the number of royals in 19th century Siam stemmed from Kings Mongkut (Rama IV) and Chulalongkorn (Rama V...

A rare 19th century princely gold cluster ring made in Siam (Thailand), circa 1860.This gorgeous ruby and diamond ring was intricately crafted in high-karat gold, by the goldsmiths of the royal Siam court in the 19th century. It is a fine example of the lavish adornment worn by participants in royal and aristocratic life-cycle ceremonies in the courts of Bangkok. Aside from ceremonial use, they were also occasionally given as gifts to important visitors or other aristocratic families. There was a huge expansion in the number of royals in 19th century Siam which stemmed from Kings Mongkut (Rama IV) and Chulalongkorn (Rama V) being highly polygamous. They had a joint total of 124 wives and 159 royal children, each requiring their own ceremonial regalia and princely jewels. As a result, Bangkok became home to some incredibly skilled goldsmiths in this period and the sheer number of jewellery required has meant that today princely jewels like this one can very occasionally be found in the open market, particularly in Europe following the relocation of the Thai royal family to Switzerland and France in the 1930’s and 1940’s. The ring features a row of cabochon rubies horizontally aligned, surrounded by a sea of rose cut diamonds. All of the stones are in rubover settings within a web of hexagonal honeycomb frames. The band is decorated with pierced and deeply chased scrollwork motifs, typical of Siam jewellery...

A gorgeous antique emerald and diamond ring dating to the 19th century. The central prong-set 0.3ct pear cut natural emerald displays a gorgeous lush green hue and great saturation. It is surrounded by a halo of rose cut diamonds in closed-back and foiled rubover settings. The triangular facets of rose cuts were very popular during the Georgian and Victorian periods as they glistened more beautifully in candlelight than any other cut. The heart shaped bezel...

This antique conversion piece started life as a regional ‘Croix Badine’ (Badine cross) dating to the late 18th century, the most emblematic jewel of the Catalan part of the Languedoc-Roussillon region. The badine cross is a regional cross mounted with rose cut and foiled Perpignan garnets...

An 18th century gold gimmel ring, consisting of three separate hoops linked together so they can fit together unnoticeably as one, embellished with tw...

Antique 19th century Portuguese diamond ring. This is a unique piece, with a lot of character and presence. The flower is quite big, making it a...

Antique victorian Gimmel wedding band in 18 karat gold. Double wedding band with fully faceted edges, it opens and allows the engraving of a date ...

Ring in 18 karat rose gold. Lovely antique charm ring, it is made of a flat double ring like a gold ribbon which asymmetrically retains a natural p...