Portugal - Cluster Rings

Contemporary 3.10 carats cornflower blue sapphire and diamond cluster engagement ring in 19.2kt white gold, Portuguese, circa 2021. This breathtaking jewel features a certified elong...

Art Deco style 1.80-carat Old Mine-cut diamond and sapphire engagement ring in platinum, vintage from circa 1990. This jewel of bombé cluster design features a charming Old Mine-cut ...

Mid-Century natural star ruby cabochon and diamond ballerina cocktail ring in platinum and white gold, Europe, 1950s/1960s. Of circular shape, this ring features a ruby cabochon beze...

Mid-century emerald-cut citrine quartz and old-cut diamond cocktail or dress ring in platinum, 1950s/1960s. This mid-20th century jewel of a rectangular shape features an emerald-cut...

Contemporary Emerald and Diamond Coronet Cluster Engagement Ring in 19.2 Karat White Gold, Portugal, 2010s. Set slightly raised to the centre with an emerald-cut emerald of an intens...

Mid-Century Certified 37.50ct Colombian Emerald and Diamond Cocktail Ring in White Gold, Portugal, 1950s/1960s. This Portuguese jewel features a mesmerizing 37.50 carats emerald of a...

Antique 18th Century Chrysolite Chrysoberyl Cocktail Ring in Silver Gilt and Rose Gold, Portugal, c. 1780. This rare Portuguese jewel is designed as a moval (mix of marquise/navette and oval) shape cluster ring pave-set throughout with old-cut yellowish-green chrysoberyl gemstones in close-back silver gilt, further embellished with a rose gold beaded border, to a rose gold closed undercarriage which leads to a tapering rose gold shank. This ring is a genuine and original Georgian piece and should not be confused for a later conversion. Finger size: 56 (EU), but can be sized up or down. Dimensions: 4.0 x 3.2 cm. Gross weight: 11.1g. These rings are the epitome of the late 18th century fashion amongst the Portuguese high society. Everything is phenomenal, from their elegance and design variety, excellence of execution and assembling, and even the cutting and setting of these Brazilian gemstones which seem to be elegantly assembled independently from the golden bead frame surrounding them. For similar Portuguese/Iberian Georgian chrysoberyl rings, see d'Orey, Leonor, "Five Centuries of Jewellery", permanent exhibition of the National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon, Zwemmer Publishers Limited, 1995, pages 78 and 89. For similar Portuguese/Iberian Georgian chrysoberyl rings, see Scarisbrick, Diana, “The S. J. Phillips Collection of Jewels of Portugal”, London, Sotheby’s, S.J.Phillips, 2017, pages 44 and 54. In the Iberian (Portuguese and Spanish) antiques world, “crisólita” is a very popular gemstone. This late-18th century misnomer in Portugal and Brasil, also referred to as “oriental chrysolite”, corresponds to greenish-yellow chrysoberyl, a mineral that was named after its transparency and colour, from the Greek “chrysos” (meaning “gold”) and "berullos" (meaning “transparency”). This gemstone became very popular in Portuguese and Brazilian jewellery on the last third of the 1700s gaining even more importance in the early 1800s, following the discovery of significant quantities of fine gem quality material in Minas Gerais, Brazil, particularly in the Minas Novas...