ANTIQUE GEORGIAN RARE SET CHILDS HAIR MOURNING RINGS EACH INSCRIBED & DATED 1815

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ANTIQUE GEORGIAN RARE SET CHILDS HAIR MOURNING RINGS EACH INSCRIBED & DATED 1815:
$2484.61

Set of Three Georgian Period Memorial Rings…..

These are so unique and have such a story to tell that I feel they should really be in a Museum.

Each ring is 9ct Rose gold and has an enamelled and bevelled glass frame which houses a child’s lock of woven, blonde hair.

Inside each ring is the following hand engraved script inscription:

John Rose aged 8 years, full of health and promise, snatched in one moment from his afflicted parents and relations by falling from a pony.

August 18th 1815

Very sad, heartbreaking.

It must have been so traumatic to lose such a young child this way…..

August 1815 was a peaceful and happy time in England, The Battle of Waterloo had taken place only a few weeks earlier ending the three year war between England and France. The whole of England must still have been celebrating the defeat of Napoleon by the Duke of Wellington.

King George the 3rd was still on the throne and finally the fighting had stopped between the US and England in the war of 1812.

It was the period of Byron, Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott. In the US Lincoln was at the helm and it was as period when the Founding Fathers were active, Madison, Adams and Jefferson.

It is amazing to think that these rings were around then and have survived against all odds, together, for nearly 200 years.

Who was John Rose? I am not a family historian but I am sure with the date of death and approximate date of birth it might be possible to find out.

They certainly would have been a relatively wealthy family.

I think these rings were made for the siblings of John Rose as a memorial to their beloved brother.

The smallest one is only 12mm (1/2”) in diameter and is definitely a childs of say 4 or 5 years old, perhaps John Rose’s younger brother or sister?

How someone managed to engrave all that into the smallest ring I’ll never know – no wonder many engravers became blind.

The other two rings are 15mm (5/8ths”) and 16mm rings are various sizes and I think that they are possibly all his siblings rings because of their size.

The fitted case is mid 20th century from a very good family jewellers in Wells in Somerset so perhaps they were sold out of the family at that period to the Jewellers or just maybe they asked the jeweller for a fitted case.

The rings are typical Georgian period memorial rings in 9ct Rose gold.

Condition is excellent – there are three lines of enamel around each glass. On one of the rings, on one of the black lines there is 3mm of black enamel loss.

K926

Please Note: All Weights & Measures are Approximate. Unless otherwise stated, any dimensions and estimated weights of gemstones in this description have been determined without un-setting the stones and are, therefore, to be considered only as a probable because of limitations imposed by the mount. The box in the picture is for display purposes only and your item will come in a reproduction antique box unless otherwise img { border:1px solid white } #extgallery3236208 a:hover img { border:1px solid #38f }