Entrancing Etruscan Revival Ring by Charles Packer c. 1860

Caroline's Jewelry with a Past is offering an 18kt. bloomed yellow gold ring c. 1860 by Charles Packer, 78 Regent Street, London. A stunning piece, this ring has an oval, bezel set faceted deep purple amethyst at the center. The stone is 16.0mm X 13.0mm (8.5 carats prox). The amethyst has beautiful color, cut and clarity. The gemstone is mounted in a chandelier or stacked style mounting. The ring face is covered in Etruscan Revival granulation work. The shank is 12kt. to give strength to the mounting and features a lovely pattern. The mounting and stone is 1-1/16" (North to south) X 1" (east to west). The ring is a size 6-3/4 and can be re-sized. The piece weighs 13.4 grams.

The matching bracelet is Item #BT00126.

This piece was made by Charles Packer (1826-c. 1932), also known as C. Packer and later as Charles Packer & Co, at 78 Regent Street, London W., England. Charles Packer was first in a partnership with William Brady, but their partnership was dissolved in 1839 and he carried on as a jeweler, pearl bead and coral dealer at the same address at 78 Regent Street, London W. until 1880. From 1880 until 1917 the business traded as Charles Packer & Co and then as Charles Packer & Co Ltd until c. 1932. (John Culme, 'The Directory of Gold and Silversmiths 1838-1914', Woodbridge 1987). Information courtesy of the British Museum.

Granulation is a technique that applies very small beads of gold to a surface metal using heat, but without appearance of having been soldered. Designs, textures and patterns can be made using granulation techniques. This design work has been used since ancient times and was resurrected during the mid 19th. century when the great explorations were being conducted in Italy, Egypt, Sumeria, Turkey and elsewhere and jewelry was found with this technique.

Blooming, or bloomed gold was a finishing technique for jewelry from about 1860 until the turn of the 20th. century. A gold item was dipped into a chemical mixture to remove any alloys that were present on the surface of the gold. The surface presented after the dipping has a pure gold appearance and a matte finish. The gold content remains the same as the piece.

The gold content of this piece has been tested using standard accepted testing methods, such as acid testing. The amethyst was tested using a standard jeweler's gemstone tester. The amethyst size was calculated using a standard jeweler's caliper. The weight calculation was done using standard stone calculation. The stone was not removed from the piece to do physical testing or for weight.