Feel free check my Instagram: @MousesHouseAntiques to follow along on my sourcing adventures & where new finds are always posted to stories as soon as they go live.
Champagne taste on a beer budget? In an effort to offer antiques at all budgets and price points - My next stock drop consists of all vintage and antique pieces in gold fill (or other). Great to wear when traveling and make excellent gifts!
All are being sold as is, in pre-owned condition with signs of age and wear. No returns as many of these are sold at or near what I paid for them and I am just trying to match them with loving homes, for the love of antiques and gold fill since I started out my career dealing in these.
Additional items shown in group photos will be listed separately in the shop and are shown for scale and color comparison.
We begin with: Please note the measurements, please note the measurements, please please please please please note the measurements (sung to the cheerful children's melody "Super Simple Songs" with my 4 year old niece ; ).
ABOUT:
A 19th century / 1800s peasant class betrothal or love token ring with wonderful enamel details. This is a departure from my norm in that it is crafted in gold fill instead of solid gold, but it is a sweet one for its intrinsic value, which is of course higher / more valuable than the cost of materials or melt.
This is a French traditional / regional ring, this type of jewelry is a huge passion of mine and pieces with words and messages are always a delight to find. In France during the antique period, the love token ring for most people was generally in gold fill, brass, bronze or in silver without any precious stones, as rings in real gold and with diamonds were reserved for the aristocracy and upper class.
The French peasant class were the rural agricultural laborers and tenants who made up the vast majority of France's population at the time. So while it's fabrication might seem "less valuable" by today's standards, this is a beautiful and uncommon example of the peasant ring in its correct and appropriate fabrication for the period and its historic background.
French gold fill hallmarks at the back.
Some wear and deterioration to the gold fill but a very ornate cigar band shank. Some weld at the shoulders but the enamel has held up better than most and is still very legible. The ring face is gold cased with a thicker sheet of gold so it appears quite shiny and pretty, with more of the underlying brass seen at the seams and the shank. Still sturdy for regular wear with a striking graphic.
MEASUREMENTS: Size 9
Weight 2.6g
Ring face 9.5mm north south and remains quite wide with just a slight taper at the back.
Antique boxes, props, extras, etc are not included. Listing is for the one piece shown in the cover photo. Please note the measurements as I have small hands and it can be difficult to determine scale from pics. We lovelies all come in wonderfully unique shapes and sizes : ) - some of these are short chains or dainty earrings.
IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES: Surface wear. These often need an occasional re-polish after sitting in the jewelry box for a long time (at least compared to high carat solid gold). Please note that all my pieces are pre-owned and in estate condition. I have mentioned any noticeable issues above and they are all still wearable and eager to be loved and accepted for many years to come, (the preservation of antique jewelry, even those with signs of their age and history, is important to me. : ) They will have patina, surface wear, a few small nicks. These pieces may also have evidence of a sizing, some build up around the stones and / or inclusions seen under magnification, typical for antique pieces. They are all still wearable. Sold as is. Please note due to age, this piece is not in mint condition. Pictures also serve as part of the description and condition report so please utilize the zoom feature which will magnify any wear significantly more than what is visible to the eye while wearing : )
SOCIAL: Please feel free watch @mouseshouseantiques on Instagram for inventory drops, sneak peaks and previews!
All items hand picked by me, one at a time from all over the world. All listings individually written by me, and not AI, after studying each piece to discuss its beauties and its ; ) eccentricities (which I am picky to point out).
