Help please with ID of two old rings found with Simplex w/SP24

[Richard Guy]

Hello,
I found the attached two rings about 8 inches down.

Large ring (right picture)
has a 95 marking on the outside of the band, Platinum?
the stone is clear
the design has provision to let light in behind the stone (the back of the ring is open), see the tiny 'port-holes' surrounding the base
the ring is very white, no tarnish
the ring looks to be older than me

Smaller ring (left picture)
has a 925 marking on the outside of the band, Sterling Silver?
the stone is odd
the back of the ring is completely closed
this ring also looks to be very old

Both rings were found within 2 feet of each other. Both rings have marks on the outside of the band. The large ring looks to have an undistinguishable hallmark on the bands outside. Both rings appear to be 'Men's' rings due to their size.

Any help appreciated Thanks for looking

 

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[Red-Coat]

Both rings have marks on the outside of the band. The large ring looks to have an undistinguishable hallmark on the bands outside.

Those look interesting. The mark may be indistinguishable to you, but could you please at least show it to us? You have a much better chance of identification if you actually show clear pictures of any marks (both rings) rather than simply describe them. There can be clues in the styling of numbers or letters which are lost if you simply tell us a mark says '925' for example.

 

[Richard Guy]

Hi Red,
OK, I'm gonna try capturing the marks. My cellphone doesn't auto adjust very well, ... I was having a tough time getting anything remotely in focus. Are there any tricks for cellphone pic focusing? I will post the marks once captured. Thanks for your suggestions

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

The high-dome oval shape of both stones, and the rings being found 2 feet apart, suggest to me that they are "Mood Rings" from the mid-to-late 1970s. Invented in 1975, according to Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mood_ring
The stone's underside was coated with a "Thermochromic" chemical whose color would change according to the skin temperature of your finger. Mood Rings were fairly cheap, so most (of course) were made of cheap base-metal.

 

[Richard Guy]

Hi CG,
Do you think they made them in platinum and sterling?

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Richard Guy asked:
> Do you think they made them in platinum and sterling?

Did you not read the 2nd paragraph in the Wikipedia article at the link I gave in my post? It pretty much answers your question. Wikipedia says the inventors sold their Mood Rings in a Gold setting for $250 (by the way, worth a lot more in 1975 dollars than in 2020 dollars). So, Sterling or Platinum ones are very likely to have been made. When the Mood Rings became a nationwide fad, other manufacturers made them with cheap base-metal, which dropped the price down to the $10 I paid for mine in the late-1970s. Problem was, the Thermochromic chemical which caused the color-changes had a short lifespan... mine "went dead" in less than 6 months.

From Wikipedia:
"The mood ring was created in 1975 by two New York inventors, Josh Reynolds and Maris Ambats, who bonded liquid crystals with quartz stones set into rings.[SUP][1][/SUP] They initially retailed for $45 for a "silvery setting" and $250 for gold, and first sold at Bonwit Teller,[SUP][2][/SUP] rapidly becoming a fad in the 1970s"

 

[Richard Guy]

Hi CG,
yes, I did read the entire article, I wasn't discounting your research, just continuing open dialog. thanks for the detail. I'm trying to get some clear pics of the markings, my cellphone takes terrible pictures.

 

[Richard Guy]

Hi Red,
I got some pics.
The first ring has 95 and a strange mark adjacent, clear stone (pics 1,2 & 3)
The second ring has only 925 on it and has a weird clear-ish greenish blue color stone (pics 4 & 5)
The pics look goldish but the rings are very silvery looking, the lighting is bad here
Thanks for checking them out for me.

 

[Richard Guy]

Ring 1 and 2, proper color

 

[bradyboy]

not sure what the deal is
numbers look funny, also - ive always assumed marks were on the inside the band, not outside
IMO
Brady

 

[Richard Guy]

Hi Brady,
Countries across the pond do mark their rings on the outside of the band. Thanks for your reply

 

[Red-Coat]

Sorry, but the mark is nowhere near sharp enough to tell what it is.

 

[Richard Guy]

Thanks Red, I appreciate your help. I found another ring today. I'm in a wooded area 30 yards from the Potomac River, near Washington, DC. I also found/saw a Copperhead snake! ... here is the ring, ... there aren't any markings on it. It looks to be silver and rather old, I'm not sure. The pattern repeats all the way around the band. It appears to be a woman's ring.

 

[Richard Guy]

Another that needs background. No markings. Gold

 

[devldog]

Mood Rings. Remember the commercial? "Sho is Bad". Lol