Back from my sourcing trip to Europe with many new antique goodies to share! Feel free to follow along on Instagram @MousesHouseAntiques!
ABOUT:
Swoon (!) for chunky pear shaped old mine cut diamonds! Even the little culet of this chunky OMC is pear shaped. With an extra high crown cropping out of the bezel setting along with the fact that it is eye clean, just a lovely piece! The center stone measures about .6 carat with the benefit of facing up larger than a comparable round stone. I love looking at it from the side to see the high crown.
I'm always looking for old mine cuts in shapes outside of round or cushion so when I found this one in Spain I knew I had to bring it home. The little single cuts adds a glint of sparkle, they too are older cuts with more free form and non uniform faceting than mathematically perfected machine cuts of today which makes me think the ring head may all be antique and was converted to a ring. The way the gallery sort of props it up the bezel setting with brackets is what makes me suspect that, but the patina of the gold is a perfect match in all parts. The old mine cut may even be older than the ring head as well. And the setting as a whole, shank and gallery is also vintage / not newly made.
No hallmarks which I have been finding after my last few trips is kind of common with pieces from Spain, but all parts 18k gold which is pretty much the norm there.
It has a nice bit of height the way the ring face is propped up, but with all the diamonds in bezel settings, it's nice that it's smooth and comfortable and won't catch on clothing.
Antique Box IS Included! These old boxes are collectible and hold value. The box is not original to the piece, but I am including it as a gift because it's always fun to store our goodies in collectible housing : )
Please note the measurements as I have small fingers and it can be difficult to determine scale from pictures.
SIZE & MEASUREMENTS:
Size: 8 3/4, should be easy to size with the way the stones are held in a platform but best to discuss with your local jeweler who would be doing the work to determine to what extent.
Ring face: 11.9mm north south by 8.7mm. 6.9mm tall off the finger to the high crown.
Weight: 2.5g.
The pear is 6.2x4.6mm just measuring it in the bezel and with the high crown it's at least 0.6 carat alone as it has chunkier proportions than a more slender pear. I would not remove it from the setting as it would destroy the bezel setting so this is an estimate and not an exact measurement but it seems to wear larger which we know is something to love about pears - they look significantly bigger than traditional round diamonds of the exact same carat weight because of the larger surface area and elongated shape.
The 14 halo diamonds are small, about 1.3mm each adding another .15 carat.
IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES:
Sturdy shank. The bezels are also secure so this one is ready to wear. No damage to the diamond. The center stone has a lovely slight warmth, not a dingy effect, but rather the delicious antique warmth we collectors love. Some of it is contributed to by the all yellow gold setting (we usually find antique diamonds set in a white metal as was customary for the period). It's lovely. It has a few wisp inclusions above the culet that can reflect around the perimeter of the stone under magnification along with a few pinpoints but these are not eye visible.
There are some nicks, indented natural inclusions and frosty inclusions to the single cut diamonds, again not really seen by the eye because the stones are so small but they have a slight variation in hues and one is frosty throughout which can be visible in some light.
See the side and underside photos to view the brackets holding up the ring face which are perfectly blended but do appear to have been soldered / just not as tidy as an all original antique ring but wow the center stone - it's a Beauty to wear.
Please note that all my pieces are pre-owned and in estate condition. 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. 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. : )
But - 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! And check out my website www.MousesHouseAntiques.com as I can add more pics there so you can get extra looks : )
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).
Many of my listings include group shots – I find the comparisons between pieces help show scale, diamond hues, etc. All items in group shots are inventory, but refer to the website to see what items have sold out and to watch for new listings from the grouping to appear on the home page.
Box#ovc.&6@
