Auctions: Ringing the changes in fashions and styles
WHEN I was a teenager I can remember my mother sending me into town with a blank signed cheque to buy a pair of shoes.
This happened a long, long time ago because although I am a man in the prime of life, it is many decades since I was a teenager.
Looking back two things about that day surprise me. Firstly, why did I only buy one pair of shoes? Secondly, I cannot believe that the shop accepted a blank signed cheque from a teenager who said the cheque was his mother's. I know it is an overused old clich, but haven't times changed.
This morning I put my debit card into the slot of a machine built into the side of a building on the high street. I pressed some buttons and a little screen told me how much money I had in the account – a piece of taken-for-granted technology which is just amazing. Haven't times changed.
Thinking about it, though, everything is changing all the time – not only technology but fashions, tastes and styles. Look at the history of the ring as an example.
The most popular type of jewellery today, rings have been worn since ancient Egyptian times. Various types have specific symbolic significance; signet rings engraved with a personal seal are often associated with power and status, while plain gold wedding rings are tokens of betrothal. Wedding rings have been given or exchanged at the marriage ceremony since Roman times and from the 16th century it has been custom to use a plain gold band.
Before the discovery of large deposits of gold in the USA in the 1840s and diamonds in South Africa in the 1870s, jewellery that was no longer fashionable was often dismantled and the precious metal melted down and refashioned with the stones being set in new mounts to follow changes in taste. This makes pre-1800 rings fairly rare.
Fashionable 18th century ring designs include the 'giardinetto' (small garden), so called because it features an openwork design of a bouquet, basket or vase of flowers set with precious stones of various colours.
Rings made in Britain after 1783 are easier to date than earlier pieces as an Act of Parliament in that year made it compulsory for jewellers to mark their designs.
In the early 19th century half-hoop and cluster gem-set rings were introduced and they remained fashionable throughout the century. Half-hoop rings feature a single or double row of gemstones whilst cluster rings generally feature a central gemstone surrounded by smaller gems or pearls.
Snakes, symbolizing wisdom and eternity, were a particularly common motif in mid-19th century rings, especially after Prince Albert presented Queen Victoria with an emerald-set snake engagement ring in 1839. Serpent rings consist of one, two or three bands with single or double serpent heads, often set with diamonds or rubies to represent eyes or simply for adornment.
New patterns introduced in the 1890s reflected the Edwardian revival or interest in 18th century court styles and jewellery of this period is characterised by delicate settings. Designs included single and paired hearts set with coloured gemstones in a diamond border and boat-shaped lozenges or 'marquise' rings typically set with a graduated row of gemstones (usually diamonds).
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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