1930s Italian Blue & White Zircon Cocktail Ring

A big, glamorous, flower-form cocktail ring, modeled in 18k yellow gold and silver, whose many blue zircon gems form a halo of petals around its large, central, white zircon! This brilliant white zircon is bead-set in a low profile bezel. The ten blues surrounding it vary slightly in color— they are nested in silver "crimped collets," and a series of small, bezel-set, rose cut diamonds are stationed between them, at the ring's edge. The ring's 18k gold undergallery is ornately hand-pierced with curling, folate forms. Its cathedral shoulders feature a leaf-like finial. Its sculptural shank is deeply carved with broad leaves that are "bound," at intervals, with little "xs."

This low-profile, early-retro ring references the Georgian era with its silver top, its stone setting style, and its carved shank. It is marked 750 (for gold purity) 800 (for silver purity), and with the maker's mark. The fasces symbol accompanies the maker's mark, here, dating the ring to a specific period in time, when Mussolini's fascist government ruled in Italy. This is an unusual beauty, and its backward-looking style makes it very interesting considered against the political climate of the period.

Materials

18k gold
Silver
Blue zircon
White zircon
Diamond

Age

c. 1934 - 1944

Size

US 7 

Dimensions

Ring face measures approx 22.9 mm; shank measures approx 3.5 mm at the shoulder and tapers to approx 2.5 mm at the base; rise (off hand) is aprox 8 mm; white zircon measures approx 11.5 mm (carat weight is approx 10 carats); blue zircons (10) average 4.9 mm (approx .75 carats, each); blue zircon CTW is approx 7.5 carats.