Help me identify hallmark on antique ring please

[MooQuackNeigh]

I know none of the history, I was offered to pick out a ring when my grandmother died and got this one. Unlikely to be valuable or anything just curious about it. Looks to be amethyst and tiny diamonds.

From what I can understand of the hallmark, the crown and 18 indicate 18 carat gold and from pre 1854. The age more then anything piqued my interest as based on grannies age I would have expected her to have jewellery from the 1940s not a century earlier, now wondering if I got it wrong.

The next symbol is a sideways shield but Google hasn't been helpful and struggling to even describe the next symbol. A bit like sideways curly F?

Can anyone help?

I cant help but its really pretty!

The next symbol after the 18 will be the Assay office. It doesn’t look like any of these though.

• Birmingham (Anchor symbol)
• Sheffield (Rose)
• London (Leopard)
• Edinburgh (Castle)

The assay office is Chester. I haven't looked it up but from memory that date letter script is early 20th century, maybe about 1920. That would also fit the style of the ring. The Chester assay office closed in the mid 20th century.

The "curly sideways F" is most likely a cursive capital P

The assay mark is the one that will help. I can't identify the shield with the three marks on it.

Are there any more marks, to the left of the crown and 18?

I have a similar ring that was purchased by my grandfather in 1945 in Norway. It was second hand when he bought it.

Could be a foreign hallmark? I'll dig mine out later and see what's stamped on it.

I wondered if it could be Scottish? Looks like the thistle assay mark

https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Dates/Chester/Date%20Letters%20F.html

It looks like F 1906 from this.

You probably have what I would describe as an old fashioned jewellers in your area,
been their years , probably family established etc.
I find that sort of place are very helpful with ageing / giving valuations of jewellery.

18ct gold, Chester assay office, 1915 year stamp.

Looks quite like my own (from my grandmother)

I have a very similar ring passed down from my grandmother, born 1904. I'll have to dig it out and peer at the hallmark.

Chester assay mark (the shield)

Date letters from Chester.
I think it looks like the P from 1915.

Don't know about the marks, but the stones look like rubies to me.

I don't think it's unusual for rings to be second hand or older "family" items for that generation. I know when my mum and dad were married but the hallmark on her wedding ring is from 1908.

Your best bet it to take it to a jewellers and ask. Looking at pictures it looks similar to Chester 1734 but that seems an unlikely age! 😂😂 They all look very similar at that scale. The shape of the outside is important too. 1906 looks possible so that sort of era seems most likely,

More pic. That time frame 1915 fits my expectations better. The gems are definitely purple rather then red and my grandma was fond of amathyst so doubt they are rubies (I wish) unless they can be purple.

Well that's a big help. My granny lived in Leicester most of her life so perhaps she got it second hand or on a day trip. Will speak to mum and see if she knows any more.

The hall mark to the left is very worn but perhaps someone else can identify it.

The Hallmark on the left is the makers mark. It looks like JH to me. It seems to match "James Harrison" who started in about 1905 which fits. He was in Birmingham rather than Chester although I don't know how away offices worked.

Rubies tend to be dark pink rather than red. Amethyst is a bluey purple.

I think they look like rubies too. This is my mum's ruby ring for example.

They look more like rubies than amethyst, but it might be the quality of the photo. Rubies can vary from a bright red to pinky/ purple tone, (garnets tend to be a deeper red and lack the 'sparkle' and amethysts can be a light to dark purple, they can be quite sparkly) colour very much depends on other minerals in the mix when the stones are formed. Rubies don't look very interesting when they are mined. it's the polishing and cutting which generally give them their beauty.
As an aside if you have a diamond and shine UV light on it, some will glow green, technically theses are seen as poorer quality due to phosphorus being present when the diamond was formed, but I think it's awesome, they really glow!

For comparison, the three pieces in the photo below are also all ruby. The pink surprised me initially, as I'd always thought of rubies as blood red.

A local auction house will identify the hallmarks & give you a valuation should you so wish.
They definitely look like rubies to me.

Those definitely look like rubies.

I'd take it to a jewellers (not a modern high street one, a proper one) and ask them what they can tell you about it.