Anyone got an idea on age or origin of this ring? Just found it after putting it away many years ago. Pretty unique, handmade piece, but thought it might look familiar to someone in style to a particular craftsman, place, or culture. Weighs 22g, opal could be mexican per a reputable appraiser.
Itโs almost certainly an opal of some kind. Itโs pretty rudimentary, Iโm guessing itโs from the 1960s or 1970s or newer. Before that you donโt really see stuff that avant- garde. It may also be a jewelry class piece as I didnโt see a hallmark
Thanks for pointing that out Madmox. Yes, there is no doubt that the stone is an opal. The jeweler just stated that it wasn't a fire opal, and suggested that it might be Mexican. That was before I told him a little of the history of the ring. It came to New York by way of Spain. I'm researching the family line, but the oldest individual ownership I can be sure of would probably be around the 1920-30 time frame. Whether it came over with that particular owner, who came from Spain, or it was here earlier I haven't a clue so far. The family does go back to Spanish colonial Florida and Puerto Rico.
Thanks for the input Argentium. My personal knowledge of the ring predates that most likely, but the history I know factually only goes back 3 generations. I don't know anything about gems, so I can only confirm that it is an opal. XRF analysis to be done in the next week or so, and perhaps that will shed some light on it.
Thanks NOXin for the comments. There are a lot of unanswered questions on this ring. It may be worth more as scrap. That will depend a lot on the XRF results.