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Ocean's Treasure - Estate Sterling Silver London Blue Topaz & Pearl Ring. This gorgeous ring is crafted from sterling silver, hallmarked 925 for sterling. Featuring a genuine round cut faceted London blue topaz, genuine seed pearls, exquisite designing and quality silver work. The expertly claw set topaz is a beautiful deep to medium blue colour, with a slight teal hue, displaying much sparkle and richness, flanked by 4 white luminous seed pearls on each side of the topaz. The setting has an attractive octagon shaped bezel with delicate detail, whilst the shoulders of the ring add beauty with it's delicate chasing and engraved work. The shank is smooth and polished for a comfortable fit. This Victorian Revival Estate piece looks stunning when worn, truly a perfect gift or addition to any jewelry collection.
History: The origins of this gem were discovered and mined in 1960 by British explorer Max Ostro in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The UK Natural History Museum impressively has the largest cut topaz to ever go on display at their museum. The gem is 15 centimeters long and 10.5 centimeters wide, a total of 9,381 carats!
Pearls were presented as gifts to Chinese royalty as early as 2300 BC, while in ancient Rome, pearl jewellery was considered the ultimate status symbol. So precious were the spherical gems that in the 1st century BC, Julius Caesar passed a law limiting the wearing of pearls only to the ruling classes.
Silver was first found in large amounts around 5000 BC, when prehistoric people dug the first copper mines. ... Large-scale silver mining had developed in Anatolia by 3000 BC. This was to meet the demand from the first ancient city states, which used the metal as a common medium of exchange.
The sterling alloy originated in continental Europe and was being used for commerce as early as the 12th century in the area that is now northern Germany. A piece of sterling silver dating from Henry II's reign was used as a standard in the Trial of the Pyx until it was deposited at the Royal Mint in 1843.
Measurements: Face of Ring 14.00 mm x 10.00 mm
Stone Size: Topaz 1.00 carat Seed Pearls 1.00 mm each
Weight: 3.10 grams
Ring Size: 6 3/4
Condition: Excellent
Origin: America
Date: 21st Century