Chunky white gold and beautiful antique mystery

[gino22]

Picked up the ring at a local TS. 11.2 grams, diamond tested good, two tiny stamps pressed into the back of the shank: an eagle's head facing to the right (which is apparently a French gold stamp), and a donkey bracketed by the letters "J" and "S". I am fairly confident it is white gold. Still need to get that tested. Does anyone know how to classify the style/maker of the ring? It is well crafted and definitely modern. Cartier and Bulgari come to mind. But I think those makers would clearly stamp their names somewhere.

Got the leather wallet(?) a while ago. Clueless as to its purpose. It is the size of a traditional men's wallet, beautiful tooling on the leather, with a calendar with cross-referenced names inside. Can't find anything like it. It is practically disintegrating now, but was definitely a prestige item in its day, if the 1888 date on the cover is accurate. What on earth could it be?

 

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[2ndisbest]

Religious? It looks like every Sunday is blank. Day of rest? Though I don't know how the spider and webb would fit into Christianity.

 

[gino22]

It does seem like a religious item, but most of the names are not Biblical, and I am unsure of the significance of the spider in any Western religion. It also doesn't seem like you could fit any significant amount of text in it, maybe a small prayer book. But why limit the use of such a beautifully made item to one year?

 

[2ndisbest]

Now that I look at it more closely, there appears to be a cross on the back of the spider (or maybe a sword?). I am no religious expert so my knowledge is limited. Though it might be some sort of anti christinaty thing/ devil worship or druid? I am not too strong on symbolism in religion. Also I noticed at least one name repeated, Friedrich, however I imagine that is a common name.

 

[gino22]

Now that I look at it more closely, there appears to be a cross on the back of the spider (or maybe a sword?). I am no religious expert so my knowledge is limited. Though it might be some sort of anti christinaty thing/ devil worship or druid? I am not too strong on symbolism in religion. Also I noticed at least one name repeated, Friedrich, however I imagine that is a common name.

Can't find any Druid/alternative religion items with this motif, but you got me thinking along those lines and I now suspect that it is fraternal. The names are names of the fraternity brothers, and the calendar is there to mark meeting dates. I looked up antique fraternal books and am finding similar things. Nothing with the spider yet.

The 1888 could be the date of the fraternity's foundation rather than the date of manufacture.

 

[gino22]

Jeweler says the ring is platinum. Ha! Revenge on this TS for all the years of overpriced sterling...

 

[Chris680]

I think the booklet is some sort of Saint calendar.

These names somewhat match up: Kalendar 1888 Germany - 1908 England

It may be German. I originally typed in the name on the date and came up with some German. It is hard to read, but I think if you do that you can maybe figure out exactly what it is!

Nice buys!!

 

[vpnavy]

Nice buys. Thanks for sharing...

 

[diggummup]

All I can add is that it is definitely German. There are two columns of names. The left column are abbreviations for the days of the week. Sunday abbreviated Sonnt. is there, you just can't see it because it is/was in red ink. The names on the right are all figures associated with early Christianity be it a saint or figure in the bible. I think the spider may have some sort of Lutheran connection and the legend of the Christmas Spider as described here- Spider Wisdom » Legend of the Christmas Spider

 

[jochart]

Jackpot on the plat ring, should be an easy $800-1000

 

[gino22]

Jackpot on the plat ring, should be an easy $800-1000

It could bring that if I can figure out how to list it. Can't find anything on that donkey maker's mark or even the style of the ring. I don't feel like it's an Art Deco design, but calling it that might attract the right buyers. Maybe Futurist?

I can't find anything that comes close. Cartier Tank rings are similar in their chunky construction, but that's about it.

I do know the design is easily achieved by taking a premade wax ring mould (they have them in all sorts of shapes) and contouring the edges. That is about the extent of the sculpting process on this one, plus the stone setting. So it wasn't necessarily made by a known designer.


As for the leather spider thing... the calendar portion appears to be a Saint Calendar - thanks for that - and the German/Christmas Spider link do make sense. Will have to do some more digging into that.

 

[2Minnesota]

I believe there are two letters in the diamond shaped makers mark. One on either side of the animal figure. These could be the initials of the maker. May help in making an ID. Awesome score BTW!!!

 

[diggummup]

I believe there are two letters in the diamond shaped makers mark. One on either side of the animal figure. These could be the initials of the maker. May help in making an ID. Awesome score BTW!!!

It's supposed to be an S and a J. I can't find it myself. The eagle's head is apparently a dog's head. We know that mark is French and not made for export.

 

[2Minnesota]

It's supposed to be an S and a J. I can't find it myself. The eagle's head is apparently a dog's head. We know that mark is French and not made for export.

I should've been sleeping instead of reading and responding! I looked for about an hour with no luck as well.

 

[gino22]

It looks much more like this eagle's head: Antique, Estate and Vintage jewelry to me. The hallmarks are worn down to an extent, so it COULD be the dog, which makes sense in the context of it being Platinum. I have to say the shape is much closer to that eagle, though.

Can't come close to that "S" "J" donkey.

 

[gino22]

Mayors Designer Signed Natural 3 4ctw Diamond Solid Platinum Mens Wide Band Ring | eBay

This is the closest I could find... got excited when I saw the price, came back down when I saw it was 35 (!!!) grams of Platinum, with way more bling. I think $550-600 is realistic for my ring. Doubtful the elusive donkey will affect that figure. If it was a well-known maker, there would be some info out there. Thanks everyone!

I think I'm going to hang onto the leather wallet. It is a Saint Calendar of some kind, and it is certainly antique. I would love to get it rebuilt into a functional wallet, but the leather is too far gone. Will probably use it as a deal sweetener for someone who would be into that kind of thing.