Victorian Era Seed Pearl Portrait Ring

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This antique portrait ring is a charming, curious object, likely made at a time when portrait photography was beginning to overtake painting in popularity and novelty. This piece is made in 18K yellow gold, and features an oval-shaped bezel with a delightful seed pearl surround. The photograph, under glass, hearkens to a time when photography was bursting onto the scene in late Victorian-era England. The elegant engraved inscription on the back of the ring reads "George to Clare 5/4/97", making it very likely to have been a love token, and placing it perfectly at the end of the Victorian era. 

The hallmarking on the inside of the band indicates that this ring was manufactured in Birmingham, England in the year 1872. Due to the very faint evidence of re-shanking, it is likely that the ring went through a rebuilding process even earlier than the piece was engraved.