Antique? Or not? Please help!

[Katiecm]

Hi, all,

I'm new to this forum. I just found this piece at a thrift store today. I was wondering if anyone is familiar with this style of ring and could tell me if it might be very old. It certainly looks old. The portrait seems to be painted on ceramic. But I can't be sure of the material.

There are no markings on the inside -- in fact, it appears the top of the ring broke off the original band and was affixed to a new one a long time ago.

Any input would be much appreciated! And if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Katie

 

[Katesimone]

To my eye the portrait doesn't look very old, I think it's more likely a modern ish reproduction of a Georgian style. The setting is hard to tell from the pic, could you post a pic of the back?

Conversion pieces are getting more and more popular, it's when people take part of an old stick pin or brooch and add a new shank to make it into a ring - that could have been what's happened to your piece.

 

[Katiecm]

To my eye the portrait doesn't look very old, I think it's more likely a modern ish reproduction of a Georgian style. The setting is hard to tell from the pic, could you post a pic of the back?

Conversion pieces are getting more and more popular, it's when people take part of an old stick pin or brooch and add a new shank to make it into a ring - that could have been what's happened to your piece.

Thanks for your response! Here are more images of the ring. I agree that the portrait might not be as old as I thought or hoped. The reason I think it might be an antique is that someone clearly went to lengths to fix the ring.

Thanks!

Katie

 

[stracci2000]

It looks like costume jewelry from the 1970's.
Someone used a soldering iron to attach another band to it.
This was common practice when a beloved costume piece broke.
I have several vintage (1960's) brooches that were repaired this way.
Not antique, but still cute!

 

[Katiecm]

It looks like costume jewelry from the 1970's.
Someone used a soldering iron to attach another band to it.
This was common practice when a beloved costume piece broke.
I have several vintage (1960's) brooches that were repaired this way.
Not antique, but still cute!

Great information, thank you!