A slender D-section gold hoop with graduated rosettes to the shoulders, scrolls supporting a cupped bezel with egg-and-dart modelling to the rim, open to the underside; inset baguette-cut Type IIa 'first water' diamond; engraved areas were once enameled black as was customary for that period, trace enamel in extant.

PROVENANCE:
Property of an American collector; formerly in the collection of H. Gordon Bois; acquired from Sotheby's, 1 April 1947; the 1947 catalogue entry dates this ring as 16th century and of either Italian or German origin. Supplied with a copy of an EGL Gemological laboratory report, New York, USA, dated 13 October 2016; a Fischer Technology Inc., Windsor, Connecticut, metallurgy report; and a positive X-Ray Fluorescence metal analysis certificate from Oxford X-ray Fluorescence Ltd.

LITERATURE:
See Ward, A., Cherry, J., Gere, C. & Cartlidge, B. Rings Through the Ages, Fribourg, 1981, p.89-97 for discussion of the type. Also see: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/of_the_first_water.

FOOTNOTES:
The stone was sourced from the Golconda mines, Hyderabad, India, which ceased production in 1725. It was subjected to analysis at EGL USA in New York in October 2016 and certified 'Type IIA and not treated'. Type II diamonds have no nitrogen impurities. Type IIa diamonds comprise 1-2% of all natural diamonds; they are often entirely devoid of impurities and are usually colourless. The underside of the ring's bezel was probably cut away in the 19th century to improve the appearance of the stone.

Dr Bonewitz notes: 'The diamond would have, at the time of its cutting, been described as a 'diamond of the first water', in reference to its perfect clarity. The term went out of use for defining the colour, clarity and internal cleanliness of diamonds when newer, more scientific grading systems came into use. Golconda stones of this purity are very rare.'