Antique Victorian ring Man in the Moon 14k gold carved moonstone face sun (7725)

Antique Victorian ring. 14k gold, moonstone, seed pearls. 19th century. Likely made in England. Suitable for a man or a woman. Measurements: Weight is 1.8 grams. US size 6 1/2. Description : A small sun-shaped ring, set in the center with a carved moonstone. The moonstone is beautifully carved as a Man in the Moon, a theme that was popular with the Victorians. Adding subtly to the celestial, Man in the Moon theme, is the design in the shape of a sunburst. The moonstone is raised in a gold collet above the level of the sun's rays, each of which is set with a tiny pearl. The carving is of superior quality. The face is perfectly round, a true “moon face,” and the carver has put an amazing amount of detail into the cheeks, forehead and features. Viewed from any angle the face is finely modeled, making full use of a glowing gem with excellent adularescence that gives a sense of movement. Small, but with great romance and mystery, and very good workmanship throughout, from the carving to the fine pearl setting. A real beauty. Marks and metal. No marks. Gold electronically tested as 14k, and may well be 15ct, a standard English gold of the Victorian period. Condition: Good with negligible wear commensurate with age. All parts are original and all pearls present. Please see enlarged pictures and don't hesitate to ask questions which we will do our best to answer. THE STORY: The Victorians were fascinated by the heavens. It was an age of great telescopes, comet sightings and popular astronomy, and celestial motifs of stars, crescents and sunbursts appeared everywhere in their jewelry. Romantic and sentimental by nature, they found in the Man in the Moon a perfect blend of science, folklore and whimsy. Carved moonstone faces became fashionable in the late 19th century and remained popular through the Edwardian and Art Nouveau periods. Jewelers of that era prized moonstone for its soft, floating glow, known as adularescence, and for its long association with the moon, mystery and love. Moonstone has a rich history of legend. The Romans believed it was formed from solidified moonlight and linked it with the moon goddess Diana. In India it was considered sacred, and it was long thought of as a lovers’ stone, said to reunite those who had quarreled and to reveal the future when held in the mouth under a full moon. This ring brings together both the sun and the moon. In traditional symbolism the sun stands for the masculine and the moon for the feminine, and the two together represent union, harmony and the eternal cycle of day and night. It is a fitting design for a ring that suits either a man or a woman, and a meaningful gift between two people. Moonstone is a variety of feldspar. Its old name, adularia, comes from the Adula mountains in Switzerland, but most fine gem moonstones of the period came from Ceylon (today’s Sri Lanka), and many of the carved faces were the work of the skilled gem cutters of Idar-Oberstein in Germany. Today a finely carved example like this one, with a characterful face and a lively glow, is eagerly sought by collectors and by anyone drawn to romance and mystery.