The Story Behind the Stone: Ancient Provenance

Watching the major auctions is a great way to keep tabs on modern collectors’ desirability for certain jewelry and gemstones. It also helps put a dollar value on the escalation or descent of certain color diamonds and gemstones over time.

Take fancy color diamonds for instance. We might conclude that a savvy collector’s appetite for rare color diamonds have hit an all-time pinnacle. But it probably hasn’t happened yet. Pink diamonds for example are currently in high demand. Aside from their splendid beauty, pundits predict that there could be as few as 500 of these scarce beauties yet to be pulled from the earth.

Primeval Gems as Storytellers

Ancient jewels, irrespective of the intrinsic value of the stones and metals, hold sway with collectors for different reasons altogether. Each piece of antique jewelry opens a window into earlier civilizations and reveal what was important to each society.

One of the most prolific jewelry making eras that is fortunately preserved was the early Roman culture. Much of their initial culture was actually borrowed from the Greeks, but over time they developed their own distinct ethos. It was reflected in their art, literature of course, and their architectural glory – like those amphitheaters for blood thirsty sport-games that entertained its citizens.

With Roman literature developing since the 3rd century BC, they painted a picture of what life was like for their society. So potent was their influence that modern civilization still borrows from ancient Roman society and still adores their gemstones and jewels.

Watch the Auctions

We can catch a glimpse of this enduring love for the primeval civilization from a recent auction in Great Britain. When a 2,000 year old Roman garnet ring came up for auction, it surprised even the auctioneers with its final hammer price.

Meaningful Carving

The archaic gold ring featured an intaglio centerpiece. As a carved gemstone, its depiction is cut into the flat top surface of the oval garnet. Were it a cameo, the stone would feature a raised carving that comes out from the base of the stone. Intaglio rings were thought to be signature devices for the wearer. The intaglio stone portion of the ring could be pressed against a piece of hot wax leaving a unique ‘signature’ impression to seal official correspondence or documents.

The representation on this ring, a right facing male portrait is thought to be that of Caesar Augustus who ruled Rome from 27BC to 14AD, a vital era in Roman history. This integral figure of ancient Roman culture reigned when the Roman Empire dominated the globe for over a thousand years.

What’s it Worth?

For this sale, Fellows Auctioneers in Birmingham England, put a rather modest pre-sale estimate on the ring of between £150 – £200 or roughly $186 – $248 US.

So when an unexpected bidding war erupted, the entire room went wild. The winning bidder (who remained anonymous) paid approximately 600 times its re-sale estimate, a rarity even with highly publicized jewelry auctions today.

The ring sold for an impressive £117K or about $146K US. While the auction house is mum on who put the ring up for sale, it did not come from an archaeological site but rather from a private collection. So we can assume that it had been in a family for over a century.

Those Were the Days

The ring was “thought to have been acquired during a ‘Grand Tour’ to Italy in the 19th century,” said a source familiar with the sale. During the 19th century, it was a popular activity for aristocrats and society’s elite to embark on these “Grand Tours” throughout much of Europe and the Far East. In doing so, the wealthy brought back immense hordes of trophies to show where they’d been and also to reflect their cultivated taste. These types of tours often lasted 9 months or longer.

So in this case, the beauty of the garnet carving is only eclipsed by its ancient provenance and the mysterious journey it took to arrive on the auction block in the 21st century. If stones could talk.