Art Deco Era Essex Crystal Ring With Portrait of a Hound

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Made entirely in platinum in the late Art Deco era, this Essex Crystal ring features a sweet, hand-painted portrait of a hound dog. The painting is suspended under an ethereal rock crystal dome, and surrounded by a halo of 0.57ct of shimmering natural diamonds. This ring is a fabulous glimpse into the fascinating world of antique Essex Crystal jewellery. 

"Essex Crystal" refers to the form of glyptography (gem carving) called "reverse intaglio". In most cases, the artist will use a dome of rock crystal and engrave the flat side of the dome, before painting a highly detailed portrait (usually in oil paint). When the crystal is flipped over and finally set into jewellery, the viewer sees the image, seemingly afloat, in the crystal cabochon. (For clarity, this method is called "reverse" intaglio, because traditional intaglio is engraved on the same side it is meant to be viewed.)