A rare Elizabethan ruby and enamel ring, circa 1560-1580, the rectangular table-cut ruby...

A rare Elizabethan ruby and enamel ring, circa 1560-1580, the rectangular table-cut ruby collet set within a raised quatrefoil double scallop setting, the lower scallop decorated with strapwork detail in white enamel, between blue and white enamelled volute shoulders, and with further black enamelled scrolled decoration to the slightly tapered band, ring size J - K. £6,000-£8,000

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Provenance: From a Private Collection.

In the Middle Ages, gem-set rings took a variety of simple forms, the focus being on the symbolic power of the gemstone therein, mounted in its natural (polished but unfaceted) cabochon form. In contrast Renaissance period rings, such as this example, are elaborate, set with faceted gems, and combining, as explained by the French goldsmith, Pierre Woeiriot in his Liver d’anneaux d’orfevrerie (1561) “the precision of the sculptor, with the taste of the painter”.

While the cusped collet setting continues from the Medieval period, by the 16th century these cusps become divided in two, with the lower scallop decorated in enamel. By the mid 16th century the use of polychrome enamel begins to appear on gem-set rings, and the fashion moved to display diamonds and coloured stones within more architecturally significant bezels, supported between sculpted volute shoulders.

In the last two decades of the 16th century, the single gem-set ring with box bezel and quatrefoil sides, fell out of fashion. The setting ceded importance to the gemstones themselves, with the stone-setter eclipsing the goldsmith; this resulted in a simplification of design, loss of sculptural elements and enamel relegated to the very edges and back of the settings (and usually black and white).

According to the famed Italian Renaissance goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571) “the ruby was valued as the most expensive stone, twice as expensive as the emerald, eight times as expensive as the diamond and eighty times as expensive as the sapphire” - quoted in Scarisbrick, D., Rings: Jewelry of Power, Love and Loyalty, 1993.




Despite their abundance in contemporary portraiture, surviving Renaissance rings, particularly examples in such fine condition as the example offered here for sale, are exceedingly rare. The fine ruby and beautiful enamel work would indicate an original owner of high status, probably a member of the Royal Court.

Condition Report
According to a PMI test on the XR analyzer, the gold is testing as 19.85 carat.
Chemical elements showing as:
Au 82.73
Ag 10.12
Cu 7.15
B 0.061