Victorian Gold Pearl Ring

A dramatic and unusual antique Victorian 9ct yellow gold and seed pearl ring. This striking and uniquely-formed golden setting supports a singular seed pearl, nestled in an ornately-carved circular nest with rope surround, and elegant heart-form shoulders in connection to the band.
 
The intricate gold rope patterns in this piece are a nod Etruscan revival jewellery, which emerged in the late Georgian period, and took root in Victorian Britain during the archeological craze. New technology permitted jewellers to work their materials in ways never before seen, and these pieces were characterized by the painstaking application of tiny gold granules and scrolling filigree to add complex texture and delicate dynamism.
 
Rope designs in antique jewellery may represent an unbreakable bond, symbolic for a person, but perhaps also representative of the dedication required in the pursuit of an artform or vocation. 
 
Note: This is a small ring, possibly intended to be worn like a signet on the pinky finger.
 
“When I cannot see words curling like rings of smoke round me I am in darkness—I am nothing.”
 
~ Virginia Woolf, The Waves