Good find. It’s a Scottish Rite Freemason’s ring for the 32nd degree... similar to this one:
Although Freemasonry is made up of three degrees, the Scottish Rite, which is an appendant body of Freemasonry, for a different purpose, uses 29 degrees numbered from 4 to 32 which are not higher than the conventional Third (Master) Mason Degree. Reaching the 32nd degree in the Scottish Rite means full membership with recognition by and peer equality to other masons throughout the word.
Captain Kidd Great looking find ! Congrats. I think this link might help explain your wonderful find. This one has the double eagles
with the diamond within the triangle & the #32, CHEERS !!! J.T.G. (see link) https://www.joyjewelers.com/modules...lnKnOljdIbzcFo3-ammYWlxgPmAefwKRoCVDQQAvD_BwE
"Sorry Red-Coat" I was typing as you sent your reply. Good work !!
That's Great !! It makes sense that it would be a real stone in an older ring. From Wikipedia, it seems Cubic Zirconia didn't come into play until 1976. Your ring has a lot more age & character & a real stone. It would be nice if you could zero in on its age. I'm sure many Masons around the world would love to own a ring like yours. Great Find! Congrats!! ps. Could be real Rubies in the cross on the side also. The fact that the stones are in "flush"
settings versus "pronged" settings is cool also & could be an indicator that it is an older ring. From Wikipedia:
"Because of its low cost, durability, and close visual likeness to diamond, synthetic cubic zirconia has remained the most gemologically and economically important competitor for diamonds since commercial production began in 1976. Its main competitor as a synthetic gemstone is a more recently cultivated material, synthetic moissanite"
I would be careful with this ring. That you found it in a fresh water lake, the tarnish on the gold would not be as profound as one found in salt water. I would leave the gold as is. Don't polish it !! It could be very old. Also,
it looks like there are flush set stones in the four corners around the eagles, but they have some crud in there that makes them hard to see. Also, there seems to be rectangular ruby type stones on both sides near the top of the ring, & some flush set stones on both sides of those rectangular rubies. If you could gently clean out the crud with a fine bristled tooth brush & some soap & water, those hard to see stones should become more visible.
I love viewing the finds of old jewelry (especially rings) on T-Net. "Mike B", "OBN", "CASPER-2",
"Plymouthian12", to name a few, always come up with some classic finds. I think yours is right up there too. CHEERS !!
I gently cleaned it and what i thought was paint is ruby! Pretty exciting. However, I can just see the four corners were flush mounted stones, but they are gone. The ruby sits underneath the eagles. The rectanguls on both sides of the eagle, one has ruby stone, the other, small piece on each side of rectangul. The cross also has ruby stone inlaid.
One other thing I did not mention, inner band is marked 10k and GRAN. 4 cap letter abbreviation. Not sure of that. Usually a persons abbreviation is 3 letter. Maybe marks the rings age?