Help with Vintage Pearl Ring

[hbyrne]

Hello there fellow Pearlers!

I've a new vintage find which has some curious features and is beyond my knowledge of Pearls, so I'm wondering if any of you clever peeps can tell anything from these pics?

The Pearls are rather bulbous in their setting and the two end ones are pear shaped with the more pointy end inside the setting. The centre is more bouton and has a metal sprue where it has been mounted before. They have a bubbly surface like the moon, which shows in the photos. One of the end ones seems to have a smoother core which could be a MOP centre (last pic) which surely would be strange as these should be tissue nucleated?

The ring is marked 'K14', (rather than '14K') which I understand from googling is a common Japanese mark for 14ct gold. I guess it probably dates to the 1960's or 70's but could be earlier.

I'd be really grateful for any wisdom or thoughts you could impart!

 

[Orient]

Hard to say what they are with any degree of confidence from the images of the external features of the pearls. The fact that one has metal remnants in it COULD indicate it is old and may be natural and the worked or worn surface on the base of the other is not really indicative of anything. The surfaces look a bit "etched-like" so perhaps again indications of age with exposure to some cleaning chemicals or processes or even general wear of some kind. Probably worth testing in a lab with the right X-ray equipment to be sure if the expense is justifiable in your eyes?

 

[Marianne]

It really is a fetching ring, Helen.

 

[BWeaves]

The ring looks very Victorian. The pearls could be naturals, and reused from an older setting.

 

[hbyrne]

Thank you so much for your thoughts, Orient... it's such fun being a Pearl detective!

The surfaces look a bit "etched-like" so perhaps again indications of age with exposure to some cleaning chemicals or processes or even general wear of some kind.

I think this is the natural state of the Pearls as it covers the entire surface, even that guarded by the mount. It may be entirely irrelevant but on a Google search I found a GIA article discusses that some Cream coloured Pearls from Kasumiguara have this kind of distinctive surface;

https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/summer-2018-cultured-pearls-from-lake-kasumigaura-production-and-gemological-characteristics

Hue and Surface Structure. Cream pearls show weak luster and overtone, with irregular, interrupted, or distorted growth layers of aragonite crystals that are observed under magnification. In the studied samples, they were formed of layers of thick aragonite crystal platelets The photographs in the article look identical to those in my ring, but I've no idea if this is common to other Pearls too or if any rings were ever made from Pearls cultivated there earlier in the 20th century.

Thank you for your positive comments Marianne and BWeaves, my first thought was that it was Edwardian era but the marks are definitely later and probably Japanese.

Meanwhile I'll keep googling...

 

[BWeaves]

Check out Lang Antiques in San Francisco. They have several rings on their website that looks similar to yours, like this one:

https://www.langantiques.com/victorian-english-natural-pearl-ring.html

Search on Pearl ring and then scroll down:

https://www.langantiques.com/catalo...e=grid&order=relevance&dir=desc&p=1&pid=27646

 

[hbyrne]

Check out Lang Antiques in San Francisco.]

They HAVE got some awesome pieces!! Oh wow! Thank you for that

 

[Katbran]

I love the ring ! And BWeaves ... what a great site ! The enamel pieces... yum !

 

[Ash]

What a beautiful ring.