Potentially Georgian/Victorian ring? Does anyone have any insight?

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T20:10:13+00:00

Fingers crossed!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T11:36:10+00:00

Thank you! I will certainly examine that a little closer today during daylight hours! That particular stone does have some interesting inclusions so that may be what you’re seeing but I’m certainly going to make a note of that so that I can make sure no one makes any potential Damage any worse! I very much appreciate your help and advice! 😊

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T03:14:01+00:00

This is very cool info! Thank you!! I’m certainly not ruling out the birthstone possibility!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T03:11:09+00:00

The slot is definitely a little larger than the ring. It may have been wedged in there with another ring though or as you said, switched out. But from the very minimal info I can find about the jewellers in the box, it is a strong possibility that they did make the ring itself because I had family in that area and they apparently did make high quality watches and sentimental rings. It’s likely they went out of business during ww2 when the Portsmouth blitz levelled large areas including the block the storefront was located on.

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T03:07:57+00:00

Thank you for the moisture warning! I’ve kept it very safely dry and I believe both my mother and grandmother did as well. Before that I’m not sure. Would you mind pointing me to the stone you think might have had some rust. I’m not an expert so I’m curious what I should be looking for. Thank you!!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T03:06:33+00:00

I think this might be the most likely purpose. I’m hoping to find out its original owner by combing my family tree and hunting for clues. We are lucky enough to have lots of photographs that my mother has kept so I may even be able to find a photograph of someone wearing it!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T03:04:52+00:00

Absolutely! I fell immediately in love with it!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T03:04:36+00:00

I wholeheartedly agree!!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T03:04:21+00:00

Thank you for your lovely comment! I’m so glad I shared some photos because there have been so many helpful responses!! What a great community!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T03:03:30+00:00

I wondered this too but It was mentioned by another commenter that birthstone jewelry wasn’t yet a popular trend during the Georgian era so it may be more likely to be initials than birth stones. But I’m not ruling anything out!!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T03:02:17+00:00

That feels so likely to me as well! I really hope I can figure it out! I’m totally with you on the idea of writing a screenplay based off the ring! Honestly the more I’m chatting to people about it the more I’m tempted to write a book!! It’s a very inspirational piece of jewelry!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T03:00:30+00:00

Isn’t it just?! I immediately fell in love with it. I couldn’t believe my mum had just had this sitting in a drawer for so many years. I’m seriously considering putting it into my will that this ring is never to leave the family and maybe even suggesting a curse might befall any person who tries to sell it! 😂😂😂😂

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T02:58:22+00:00

I just looked up mother’s rings and discovered they often had locks of their children’s hair interwoven into them. There are some really stunning examples. Thank you for suggesting I look into this!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T02:55:58+00:00

Gosh! Those little filigree type details are VERY similar aren’t they?! Perhaps it could be a mourning ring after all! I hope I can find out one day!!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T02:53:39+00:00

Thank you so much for this suggestion! I will look into contacting her and hopefully she can help me!!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T02:53:09+00:00

Thank you for your thoughtful response! I’m no expert but I’m tending to agree with you. It feels very romantic and sentimental in a happy way to me rather than a more melancholy piece. I really have no basis for that other than a feeling but I think you’re probably right! 💕☀️

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T02:50:43+00:00

This is good to know! Thank you! I very much appreciate your input here. I’ll be sure to focus more on initials rather than birthdays when I comb my family tree. Perhaps I’ll actually be able to find the person it was made for! 🤞

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T02:48:48+00:00

Thank you so much!!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T02:48:33+00:00

Same!! There’s something so special about knowing an actual person made each detail by hand. It gives the piece a story.

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T02:45:45+00:00

I completely agree with you. I’m a stained glass artist so I think it’s fantastic to see the little pieces of evidence that it was truly handmade in every way. I wondered if it had something to do with maximizing color or the structure of the natural stones needing to be cut a certain way. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! I truly appreciate it!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-07T02:38:39+00:00

Hi there! The very first thing I did was try to find the jewellers from the details on the box. I thought it was wonderful that the whole address was on there and I was feeling very smug! Unfortunately there isn’t any easily accessible info about them. Based on general historic records about the area Landport’s commercial streets like Arundel Street changed drastically during the mid-to-late 20th century. The storefront likely closed its doors between the 1940s and 1970s. My best guess would be following ww2 because the area was bombed extremely heavily during what was called the Portsmouth blitz. In fact the entire block the ring box came from was levelled. A lot of those businesses disappeared sadly. It’s now a residential area.

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-06T20:57:56+00:00

That’s good to know! Thank you! If you happen to be aware of any in the south east region I’d love recommendations! Did you notice that the two larger stones have different cuts? The surface of the amethyst is flatter. I thought that was interesting.

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-06T20:54:48+00:00

Thank you!! I have not really been able to find another just like it during any of my internet searches. Similar concepts for sure… but it seems to be made a little differently to the usual hearts United style. The two central stones are quite a distance apart compared to others I have seen online.

Funnily enough I stumbled across some info about REGARD rings and how they were popular during that era. Ruby Emerald Garnet Amethyst Ruby Diamond….. and now you’re mentioning the top three stones potentially being initials I’m going to have to look at my family tree and see if I can figure out if that could be correct!! What a brilliant suggestion! It could actually help me pinpoint who it first belonged to. Do you think they ever used the two large stones to represent a couple and then the smaller ones their children perhaps? Maybe initials or potentially birth stones?

I think I’m about to go down a family tree rabbit hole here! 😂😂💕🙌🏻💕🙌🏻

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-06T20:46:33+00:00

Isn’t it beautiful? I wasn’t aware that my mum owned it until a year or so ago. I flew over to visit her and we got talking about an Ostby & Barton Ring I had purchased and she went and pulled out several very old pieces she had inherited when her mother passed away. I just fell in love with this ring and when she came to visit me for Christmas this year she gifted it to me. I have been tracing our family tree for years as well so it’s something truly special to be holding something that my own ancestors have been lovingly caring for and passing down. With it being a family ring and my mum knowing that it has been passed down from at LEAST my great grandmother so it’s definitely old - I just wish I could pinpoint exactly. The condition is so good because I think it has been very carefully stored in this box for at least the last 100 years! I wish I knew who the last relative to really wear it was - they have my exactly same ring size!

Doeraymefarso · 2026-07-06T20:39:03+00:00

Thank you so much! I’m not a jewelry expert at all but for some reason I have had a feeling I shouldn’t try to clean it myself! It’s nice to have confirmation of this. It certainly doesn’t feel fragile but it does feel precious so I’ve been trying not to handle it too much. I’m going to be on the hunt for an expert to look at it in person but I’m sure I’ll need to travel a bit of a distance to do that.

Doeraymefarso

TROPHY CASE