19th Century Diamond Serpent Ring, Modified Mine & Rose Cut Diamonds, Silver, 18K (sold)

This wonderful and peculiar ring was in sad shape when I found it.  The diamond studded serpent is Georgian-era, but it had been badly mounted onto a turn-of-the-century English 18K shank.  And it had several missing and broken stones.  We fixed it up with period stones and rebuilt the mount to be more secure and tidier looking.  Since the shank is clearly not the same period, I’m not sure if the serpent was part of a ring originally.  But in any case it works well.

That pear-shaped mine cut is a prize— pear shaped diamonds of this period are very rare.