"Cluster” ring, studded with 13 diamonds, made for a member of the aristocracy or a wealthy merchant.

Heavy gold ring with D-section hoop, slightly widened towards the shoulders with black enamel and gold foliate scrolls, continuing along the pyramidal underside of the square bezel. On the top in the center is a raised large table-cut diamond surrounded by ten smaller table-cut diamonds, each individually set in pyramidal-shaped box settings with arcading along the base. On either side of the bezel is an oval-shaped setting with the same enameled foliate ornament and rose-cut diamond. Inside the lower hoop is an insert, which is commonly applied to adapt the ring size for a later owner. The ring shows signs of wear and is in good wearable condition.

Literature:

In Europe diamonds, known as the hardest substance on earth and described as the “King of Gems”, were highly desirable in jewelry from the fourteenth century onwards when gem cutters began developing the table cut.  Towards the latter seventeenth century jewelry exclusively studded with diamonds became highly fashionable, and the demand for the gemstone increased significantly. Diamonds were not only sought after for their value and sparkle, but were the favorite choice for betrothal and marriage rings symbolizing virtue and constancy, see: Beatriz Chadour-Sampson, The Power of Love, Jewels, Romance and Eternity 2019, pp. 36-39; and on the source and cuts of diamonds Jack Ogden, Diamonds, An Early History of the King of Gems, New Haven/London 2018.

The original owner of this splendid diamond cluster ring, designed in the period’s fashionable style, would have belonged to a high-ranking member of society, either a wealthy merchant or aristocrat. For variants of such prominent diamond rings of this period, cf. one gifted before 1684 by King Charles II to his mistress Nell Gwynne (exh. cat. A Sparkling Age, 17^th century diamond jewellery, 1995, p. 52), or a ring presented by King William III and Queen Mary II to General Godard van Reede, 1^st Earl of Athlone in 1691 for his military support (Diana Scarisbrick, Diamond Jewelry. 700 Years of Glory and Glamour, 2019, p. 111). The designs vary in style, especially in the cluster formation and enameled ornament along the hoop. Similar type settings and enamel ornament can be found on a gold ring with central emerald surrounded by table-cut diamonds in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England, 1685-1701 with the monogram of King James II engraved on the underside of the bezel (Church 2017 (2^nd edition), p. 55, fig. 65).

For a brief history of the diamond ring through the centuries, see: Scarisbrick 2007, pp. 298 -335.

R-1077