Victorian 9ct Bloodstone shield ring!

@Bronwen , I love the abolitionist seal. You can just imagine someone firmly stamping his/her convictions on every sealed letter.

 

Thanks everyone! Always good to know a little more about my finds. I'm definitely wearing it. Should I leave all the patina as is or polish it up to make it look more gold? Right now it's tarnished and scratched up youd think it's brass!

 

Polish just using a cloth, it will do wonders. You can also have it professionally polished, it will look like new.

 

Hi,
A good jeweler would be able to put a slighter fatter rim around the stone to make it look better. I had an old onyx ring which got shattered with a bb gun.
The jewelry store put in a smaller onyx and filled the rim in. I had the ring until the 1980s when it ran away with a visitor. The accident happened back in the 1950s.
greg

 

Sorry to hear that. Terrible when you or your possessions are not even safe in your own home.

 

Hi Any Jewelry,
Thank you. It was an over large Holiday party of over 50 guests some of which I had never met before. It was not the only thing that ran off, my favorite paperweight a lion on a royal purple background seemed to fly off also.
greg

 

May have been the same person. Some people don't want to know what hospitality means.

 

Hi,
I remember when I first moved to Manhattan back in the 1970s. I went on vacation and when I returned after three weeks I was horrified to find my apartment door propped open. Then I remembered that when I left, I had propped the door open to move my luggage to the elevator which came immediately and I got on and went. Absolutely nothing was moved or disturbed!!!! People must have thought I was there with the door propped open. Dumb blind luck!!
greg

 

Either that, or any prospective burglars did not have your taste in antiques, or, you had nothing at the time worth stealing, or, your guardian angel watches over guys with dumb blind luck REALLY well!

 

thanks...that brought back good memories...

 

It's an interesting piece. The kneeling figure is essentially the same one used as the emblem for the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in England that Josiah Wedgwood made into plaques, brooches & other items for promoting the cause. These had the words 'Am I Not a Man and a Brother?' around the edge. The French Societe des Amis des Noires used this:



My seal says VOILA UN HOMME, paralleling Ecce Homo, so possible it reflected one person's private conviction rather than the sentiment of an organization. Anyone who wore it as a ring (it is much too large for me) was definitely making his or her position known.

 

Just made my bandaid sizer for the ring and it looks very nice. Simple and plain but still cool! May polish it up before wearing it. I would be inclined to have it professionally sized so there are no bandaids but the problem I have everytime with sizing is the fact the marking is erased forever..... So bandaids it is! All I do is cut up bandaids to size and place them on the inside of the shank avoiding the mark so it is still visible when the ring is off. I avoid the stone obviously and it is completely invisible when on finger! I can post pictures if anyone is interested in seeing what it looks like. Preserves the history of the ring whilst being able to wear comfortably. Plus it feels like a little pillow on my finger.

 

I've used bandaids and Scotch tape! First time was in 1965 on the first ring I ever bought. Probably Mexican and very "folky." I still have it somewhere.

 

Hi,
The girls in my high school used a lot of thread and then covered it with layers of nail polish to wear their boyfriends rings.
greg

 

Hi Greg, my grandmother used to do the same when she gave me rings that had come down through the family. I think I was four when she gave me my first ring, with a daisy pattern. She showed me the whole process, and I was so proud that she trusted me enough to wear a 'grown-up' ring.