While I wait for my test kit to arrive...

[Hunting_Dad]

I found this ring tonight down at a saltwater beach. Overall it looks like costume jewelry. However, it does appear to have been in the water for a long time and the metal shows ZERO tarnish or blistering. Its heavy and when cut into the band the metal seems homogenous.. The only markings read ?Made in Austria?. Could this ring predate the normal 10k/14k markings? The green stone looks too perfect to be real. Do they make costume jewelry with fake stones and real gold? Outside of the band I wear and the engagement ring i bought 24 yrs ago, I dont have a lot of experience with jewelry... I ordered an acid test tonight, but until that arrives; what do you all think?

HD

 

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[GeoW]

What number does it show on the Nox?

 

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[niffler]

That looks nice!

 

[TheCoinKid]

Strictly speaking, the odds have to be against it being high karat gold AND a gem quality stone. There has to be thousands of fakes out there for every genuine one. The fact that so many respected members of the forum don't immediately ID it as a fake, has to increase your odds considerably (yes, SCpicker does hold a healthy counter opinion).

To my eye, the metal appears to be high karat gold, and the workmanship appears to be high quality, with quite a bit of age to it (Victorian maybe). Then again, there's plenty of knockoffs of old style jewelry made today. The gem? It's hard for me to imagine it's a real emerald or other gem quality stone, but I don't have any real experience with such.

If the ring is 100+ years old, high grade gold, and a gem quality stone, then it would likely have considerable value. I hope the best for you!

 

[SusanMN]

It’s beautiful and the stone cut is really interesting. Once you test it be sure to post an update. My vote is real gold.

 

[CRUSADER]

I'm not really sure on this one, so I'm keen to learn later from the expert.
My observations are;
First impressions - not real, but costume - don't like the lack of join & double wire affect on the loop
It does give the impression of high grade gold
It does have some good workmanship
I'm no good with stones, so can't comment on a picture

So for me, it just seems confusing which way to jump.

 

[Hunting_Dad]

GeoW.... it rings 13-15 on the Nox.

 

[bologna321]

I vote real, best of luck

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Thanks for posting the better pics of your ring find HD.

The amount of detail work that went into making this ring, if it is just brass is astounding.
The only way you're going to know for certain if it's real gold is to take it to a jeweler and have the metal and the gemstone tested.

To me, the design of the finger-loop raises some doubt as to whether this piece is actually from the late-Georgian of early-Victorian Period though.
Dave

Diamond cut - History
"The history of diamond cuts in Europe can be traced to the late Middle Ages, before which time diamonds were employed in their natural octahedral state?anhedral (poorly formed) diamonds simply were not used in jewelry. The first "improvements" on nature's design involved a simple polishing of the octahedral crystal faces to create even and unblemished facets, or to fashion the desired octahedral shape out of an otherwise unappealing piece of rough. This was called the point cut and dates from the mid 14th century; by 1375 there was a guild of diamond polishers at N?rnberg. By the mid 15th century, the point cut began to be improved upon: the top of the octahedron would be polished or ground off, creating the table cut. The importance of a culet was also realised, and some table-cut stones may possess one. The addition of four corner facets created the old single cut (or old eight cut). Neither of these early cuts would reveal what diamond is prized for today; its strong dispersion or fire. At the time, diamond was valued chiefly for its adamantine lustre and superlative hardness; a table-cut diamond would appear black to the eye, as they do in paintings of the era. For this reason, colored gemstones such as the emerald, ruby and sapphire were far more popular in jewelry of the era.

The first brilliant cuts were introduced in the middle of the 17th century. Known as Mazarins, they had 17 facets on the crown (upper half). They are also called double-cut brilliants as they are seen as a step up from old single cuts. Vincent Peruzzi, a Venetian polisher, later increased the number of crown facets from 17 to 33 (triple-cut or Peruzzi brilliants), thereby significantly increasing the fire and brilliance of the cut gem, properties that in the Mazarin were already incomparably better than in the rose. Yet Peruzzi-cut diamonds, when seen nowadays, seem exceedingly dull compared to modern-cut brilliants. Because the practice of bruting had not yet been developed, these early brilliants were all rounded squares or rectangles in cross-section (rather than circular). Given the general name of cushion?what are known today as old mine cuts?these were common by the early 18th century. Sometime later the old European cut was developed, which had a shallower pavilion, more rounded shape, and different arrangement of facets. The old European cut was the forerunner of modern brilliants and was the most advanced in use during the 19th century. Around 1900, the development of diamond saws and good jewelry lathes enabled the development of modern diamond cutting and diamond cuts, chief among them the round brilliant cut."

 

[JeffInMass]

I don't like sitting on fences so I'm siding with REAL - it's a beautiful looking piece and would be in the amazing category if real- looking forward to knowing the result- GL!

 

[Jose The Goon]

Let me preface by stating....I'm no expert on gems or precious metals...nor am I a jeweler or a goldsmith.
I never knew of Austrian emeralds until "H.D." made the opening post of this thread. That being said, I base my opinions on
past saltwater detecting experience, acquired knowledge from over 60 years of my interest in antiquities/coins/art etc,. and deductive reasoning, (like many people here). Over the years I have found that even experts/professionals can be wrong on
appraisals of things. Authentic items can be judged as fake, & fake items can be judged as authentic & original.

Like many here, I also find "H.D.'s" ring interesting & intriguing but I am also puzzled & unsure with my limited knowledge
of such things. The shank/loop of the ring is puzzling to me also.....but, unless the ring was lost shortly before "H.D."
found it, I can't see it being brass. Brass in the sea for an extended period turns green or greenish blue. Plus, it's too hard
for an adjustable shank/loop. It has too be a softer metal & have pliability to it so it can be tightened around the finger.
The ring looks like it's a little misshapen on the right side. (green arrow) The shank/loop is not copper or aluminum either.
I would guess that it is a high karat gold, (20-22k) that was rolled & folded over before being affixed to the bridge/crown/gallery/crest which may be of a lower carat (14-18k) for hardness, especially the prongs that hold the stone in place. (crown & shank/loop should be tested separately) If you magnify the pictures it seems the softer gold of the shank/loop
has dings & dents that don't seem to exist on the prongs & crown etc.

The "Made in Austria" with no maker's mark is puzzling. It "possibly" could be one of those rings made with gold
but has an emerald NOT from Austria as mentioned in the link in post#2 of this thread.
As for the stone/gem, also in the link of post#2, the Austrian stones can be distinguished from other countries' emeralds
by certain characteristics that a qualified gemologist may be able to ascertain. Keep in mind that emeralds are 7.5-8 on the "MOH" scale. (Diamonds are hardest at 10). A good example of the durability of gems that have been knocked around in the sea is our fellow T-Netter "Mike B's" find of a beautiful 14-18k (I forget which) old ring with a diamond, ruby & sapphire. Found in saltwater, the gold was tarnished but the gems where unblemished.

"Hunting Dad", if your ring test positive for gold, you should contact the guy by the email he lists in the link of post#2.
He should shed some light on the subject seeing he is writing a book about it, & seems to be very knowledgeable about the
Austrian emeralds. I photo-chopped the ring from your hand, enlarged it & put it on a red background. If you can get a back-lighted photo of your ring in an UPRIGHT position so that it shines through the gem, I will photo-chop it and put it on a background also. But, be sure when you send the guy the photos, you let him know that the images were "photo-chopped" from an original photo, but the ring & gem themselves were not "photo-shopped" in any way.
(just so he knows you're not misleading him) Best wishes. I hope your ring is the real deal. Great find nonetheless. CHEERS !! J.T.G.



p.s. Don't polish the gold but you may want to clean out the dirt under the gem (red arrows) with water & a light tooth brush. Also, it may be worthwhile to check carefully for a maker's mark somewhere hidden in the crown/crest/galley/bridge areas.
Wild speculation: What does a goldsmith who owns an emerald mine do in his cabin @ night when he is not looking for emeralds in the middle eighteen hundreds? He didn't need electricity for light to do his gold smithing. There was none. Probably
did the same stuff he did when he was at home. Could Mr. Goldschmidt have been a gemstone cutter too? Wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Jeff Beaumont]

Looks like gold to me.

 

[Hunk-a-lead]

way cool find, such a beauty. either way, well done and good luck.

 

[villival]

I do see inclusions consistent with a real stone (emerald) in the first photo. A glass stone would be perfect.

That is an incredible find and I genuinely hope it's real.

There is nothing more gorgeous than letting a stunning stone speak for itself, with the simplicity of a gold backdrop.

 

[Hunting_Dad]

Maybe next time.
My test kit arrived today and the results confirmed my initial suspicion that the ring I found is in fact costume jewelry... at least thats what i think the test showed. Perhaps someone here could enlighten me.
I applied a drop of the 10k solution and nothing happened for a minute or two, so I stepped up to the 14k solution and the scratch disappeared immediately. So I naturally thought the ring must be 10k. However now some 15 minutes later the ?gold? under the 10k solution has faded but is still discernible.
Does this mean I have a 9.5k ring or is a slower reaction simply to be expected with a weaker acid?
Thanks for your time and patience...
HD

 

[unclemac]

take it in and have someone look at it, we can only tell you so much from a post.

 

[Truth]

I think you got one of the most interesting beautiful gold rings I have seen come out the ground. Congratulations on that beautiful

 

[CRUSADER]

Maybe next time.
My test kit arrived today and the results confirmed my initial suspicion that the ring I found is in fact costume jewelry... at least thats what i think the test showed. Perhaps someone here could enlighten me.
I applied a drop of the 10k solution and nothing happened for a minute or two, so I stepped up to the 14k solution and the scratch disappeared immediately. So I naturally thought the ring must be 10k. However now some 15 minutes later the ?gold? under the 10k solution has faded but is still discernible.
Does this mean I have a 9.5k ring or is a slower reaction simply to be expected with a weaker acid?
Thanks for your time and patience...
HD

Not too surprised because the loop was an odd one for a high quality gold ring.

I don't think it can be less than 10Kt because of it's colour. It's either high Kt or not.

I would take it to an expert, just to confirm your testing.

 

[ARC]

Just caught this thread.

These were actually "bubble gum machine rings" at one time.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Nice Ring !
Just take it to a local Jeweler and they should be able to test it for you.

 

[Heavygold4me]

The color looks right for gold, either way it’s an interesting ring. Take it to a professional and have it checked. I really like the color of the stone with the light shining through it.