Early 20th Century Lapis Coat of Arms Ring

This fantastic gold signet ring dates to the early 20th century, circa 1910 and was made in Paris. A vibrant lapis lazuli is engraved with a French heraldic family coat of arms.

The carved lapis lazuli displays a gorgeous blue hues with evenly distributed pyrite specks which mimic the night sky. The coat of arms displays two different charges, including a ship navigating through the sea of stars, with a demi-star placed above, a clever use of stone and imagery based on the family coat of arms. The lineal and dotted shading on the coat of arms is used to indicate the tincture, or colour. In this example the horizontally chased lower section banner is ‘azure’ (blue), whilst the dotted top part is coloured ‘or’ (yellow). The intaglio is carved in negative, so when pressed into sealing wax, the coat of arms is displayed in positive. It is set in a smooth signet mount with a D-shaped cross-section and is crafted in 18K yellow gold.

UK size S 1/2, US size 9.25

The ring weighs 11.47g, French ’tête d’aigle’ (eagle head) hallmark indicates 18K gold from Paris.

The lapis lazuli measures 13mm x 10mm.