Featured Need some opinions on this tiger eye cameo ring

Thanks! I have an old Samsung Galaxy S5 phone... Android OS and the phone is 5 generations ago, almost. From 2014. It takes good photos much of the time. Just not in this kind of situation. There is probably an app also.

 

It may work on that phone too- worth a try

 

Bought the ring. With some cleaning it will look great. How old do you think it is?

 

For $95, I think it was a good buy. Hard to say about age. Others may have more to go on, I would only guess pre-1960.

 

The ring tested at 10k. How old do you think the cameo portion is? Wouldn't that be the easiest way to tell? When I first saw it I initially thought it was pre 30s based on the setting?

 

AH, 35+ years of being a graphic designer with many years of playing with PhotoShop help

 

More 1950s, I think, but I'm no jewellery historian. Hope to get some other opinions to see if there's a consensus.

 

Any dating would be a wild guess without a known history or maker's mark.With the die struck construction of the ring it was probably pre 1950's.

 

If you want to shoot a lot of macros, try getting a rug magnifier /stamp magnifier. They're basically 10x magnifying lenses on folding stands. It works better than a loupe, because you can sit it on or around the object and then shoot through it. Works great with a camera; I have no idea how it would work with a phone.

 

Thanks! I actually used to have something like that, that was intended for large pieces of embroidery or quilting. It was a light on a stand with a magnifier attached. May not have been 10x, though. It has been too long for me to remember.

 

I've had a couple of similar lamps, one is leaning over me now. Neither seems as strong as 10X. Sometimes, when something is extremely difficult to see, I put another magnifier that is 10X on top of the lens in the lamp. Would need another pair of hands to do it, but could take more magnified photos using that arrangement.

 

I was thinking 1940s, the shank reminds me a bit of some tank rings.

 

The rug gizmos are little guys that fold up and fit in a pocket. Opened up and used as intended they have a fixed focal distance. I just put the camera lens up against the magnifying lens and shoot away if the piece is flat or fits inside the circular opening in the base. Phone cameras aren't that great a macros, but my phone is too dumb for a camera so I'll have to borrow Mom's at some point and see if I can get that to work too.

 

The magnifier I use the most, & sometimes use in conjunction with the lamp's lens, fits that description, & when it's set up (I rarely use it because not enough light) you also see ruled edges on the lower piece that let you measure out a square inch. I was told it was used for printing, to count dots, but it would be just as useful for counting knots.

I forget how I got mine, but it's old, really heavy brass that was covered in black enamel paint, now wearing away, & a very good lens. Almost my best friend.

 

Could very well be. When it comes to the 40s, I always assume participants in the war weren't making or buying discretionary goods that much in the first half. The style has had a long life span. Wouldn't be surprised if still being made.

 

That's exactly what I have too - black paint wearing down to the brass. My dad used it for stamps. I tried using it with my mom's phone and it DOES work with a phone lens too.

 

The fold out stand holds the lens at optimal focal length, so quite a handy thing to have. I like it better than either of my loupes most of the time.

 

For shooting pictures, definitely. For those who don't have one, this is a bad shot of mine; it was in a picture I was taking of something else, so I cropped at second copy.

 

Mine has quite a bit more paint loss. It says JAPAN in one spot. Where that box is by the tip of your thumb, mine has a cartouche with Japanese characters, & there are a couple more off to the side, outside of the cartouche. But in all the meaningful ways, it's essentially the same.

 

Somebody's initials are under my thumb - no clue whose.