Vintage Ring with Green-Blue Tourmaline & Diamonds in Silver & Gold, c. 1950

Tourmaline is a gemstone with an extremely wide variety of colors. From blue to yellow, pink and green, it comes in almost every color. Its wonderful radiance has made tourmaline one of the most highly prized gemstones since time immemorial. The name tourmaline comes from the Sinhalese word thuramali ("තුරමලි") or thoramalli ("තෝරමල්ලි"), which was generally used to describe colorful gemstones found in Sri Lanka. Larger quantities of tourmaline were only exported from Sri Lanka to Europe from the middle of the 18th century. A particularly beautiful, dark blue specimen in a round star cut forms the centerpiece of this ring. The tourmaline, an indigolite, is a deep dark green and only unfolds a gentle play of colors when exposed to light, which is otherwise completely restrained. Sixteen rose cut diamonds accompany the gemstone as a sparkling frame. The stones are set in silver, which was later rhodium-plated white together with the gold of the ring band. The design of the ring is based on historical models from the turn of the century. However, details of the design reveal that it was created somewhat later. Its rather high structure, for example, is more typical of mid-century jewellery, so we assume that the ring was created in memory of the Belle Époque in the years immediately after the war. We discovered the ring here in Berlin.

Estimate:£1,591.46

View all items fromHofer AntikschmuckorJewellery & Gems