What stone could this be and what type of ring?

This was in my mom’s jewelry box and I know I never saw my dad wear it. The inscription says HONOR and makes me think it could possibly be a military ring as my dad served in WWII but in the Dutch Air Force. BUT, he served for a few years at the Jackson Mississippi Army Air Base where the Royal Netherlands Military Flying School was training pilots and mechanics. Not sure if he was gifted the ring from the US military… OR, since dad worked for KLM for 43 years and was always bringing home items that were left on the airplanes, who knows if it was even his?

 

lovely mans ring......
could be amethyst ....or glass?/

 

The top edge of the stone looks chewed, I’m thinking glass. The only way to be sure is to have it tested. No fitness mark on the ring?

 

No other marks that I could see. Yes, the stone is quite chipped so probably isn't valuable. Just such an interesting design!

 

It is a bit more blue than these pics. Probably glass…

 

Hi Jennifer! I have left Antiquers (for the time being), but saw your post and think I could shed some light on the historical part:

I think that particular connection is unlikely. My father-in-law also trained as a pilot there during the same period, before he was sent to the Netherlands East Indies Squadron in Broome, Australia. He never owned an American ring, so it wasn't customary.
The Jackson Army Airfield was an allied forces air base at the time, so it was quite international. Dutch and Netherlands East Indies military instructors were sent there from Europe and Asia to train Dutch pilots etc for specialised tasks. Other countries had similar training programs in Jackson.

I think that could be it. It is a lovely ring.

 

I've seen the style before on a marked ring, I just can't remember for the life of me who it was that made it and what it dated to. If I recall there was a patent on this design circa at the earliest 1930 to 1940's IMHO, stone is probably amethyst which is a 7 on the mohs hardness scale, so if it was worn often by your father, chipping would not be unexpected and just shows how much he enjoyed the ring. If the diamond is real, the amethyst will be.

That said, the color of blue in the second picture indicates it could be a color change sapphire (that would suggest about a 99.9% likelihood synthetic). The stone will change color alternating between the purple and blue based on the type of light source. You can test this yourself by exposing the stone to different light sources and seeing how that affects the color of the stone. It would have to be examined by a gemologist to conclusively determine what the stone is.

The ring saying Honor suggests it commemorates some event possibly related to military or education.

I will guess, without holding it or examining the ring in person it would most likely be 10K yellow gold (speaking from the good old US...so if European, low carat gold such as a 9ct) but I think it is an American piece. It is not uncommon for karat stamping to get cut out of a ring that was sized down.

 

Nice ring! Since you found it in your mom's possessions and you never saw your dad wear it, it might also have been something significant to her but not to him. Or maybe she found it somewhere? Just another possibility.