Antique Silver & Chalcedony Ring - Bernard Instone - C. 1930 - UK Size O
Item History & Price
Antique Silver & Chalcedony Ring - Bernard Instone - c.1930 - U.K Size O / U.S Size 7-1/2
~Welcome to my auction for this lovely arts & crafts silver by a top period designer~
This is a fantastic piece of original arts & crafts jewellery by a famous designer of the period.
Bernard Instone (1891 - 1987) was a prolific designer from Birmingham who won a scholarship to the Birmingham Central School of Art in 1903 aged only 12 years old - he went on to win two further ...scholarships where he learned silversmithing and jewellery making, by all accounts he was incredibly talented.After completing art school he worked in the Westerham studio of John Paul Cooper where he was later chosen to go to Berlin and work with the German court goldsmith, Emil Lettre and receive further training - whilst working in Berlin he completed a commission for the King of Bavaria.
Instone completed service during the great war and after his he later in 1920 he founded the Langstone silver works in Digbeth.
In a long career Instone was known for his artistic jewellery, silverware, enamel work and particularly his semi precious stone jewellery in the arts & crafts style.
The example on offer here is lovely example of his work - crafted in his usual metal of sterling silver the ring is fairly typical of a common style he used - the shoulders of the ring are decorated with his distinctive handcrafted leaves and flowers- to the centre of the ring is a large oval blue / lilac coloured chalcedony cabochon.
The ring is on a plain shank and is marked to the inside with a simple stamp of 'silver' (see pictures 7 and 11) - this in itself isn't unusual as frequently his work is neither signed with some examples not even marked as silver - for every 30 or 40 pieces of his work you see you'll find only one of them signed, but that said it is definitely one of his pieces.An older jewellery dealer I've purchased items from in the past has actually met Bernard Instone's son and asked why his father marked his work so infrequently - the simple answer was that his father didn't expect his work to be so sought 70 or 80 years after making them and so wasn't concerned about it at the time.
The ring is currently sized at approximately a UK size O or a US size 7-1/2 (internal diameter of 17.35mm)- the shank is thick enough to size it up or down should the buyer decide to do that - the total unpacked weight is 4.8g.
The condition all round is excellent with no faults to report - there are some perfectly normal signs of light wear given it is approaching around 90 years old but nothing worth mentioning - the silver has softened to a lovely patina.
This is a beautiful ring by a sought after designer and maker, please study the images provided to satisfy yourself as to the condition of the item - if you have any further questions please ask and I'll be happy to oblige.
At the time of listing I have a number of Instone pieces of jewellery, including rings, please take a look at my other listings.
Postage to U.K addresses is £4.50 (signed for) - postage to international addresses is £14.95 (tracked / signed)
Thanks for looking.
~Welcome to my auction for this lovely arts & crafts silver by a top period designer~
This is a fantastic piece of original arts & crafts jewellery by a famous designer of the period.
Bernard Instone (1891 - 1987) was a prolific designer from Birmingham who won a scholarship to the Birmingham Central School of Art in 1903 aged only 12 years old - he went on to win two further ...scholarships where he learned silversmithing and jewellery making, by all accounts he was incredibly talented.After completing art school he worked in the Westerham studio of John Paul Cooper where he was later chosen to go to Berlin and work with the German court goldsmith, Emil Lettre and receive further training - whilst working in Berlin he completed a commission for the King of Bavaria.
Instone completed service during the great war and after his he later in 1920 he founded the Langstone silver works in Digbeth.
In a long career Instone was known for his artistic jewellery, silverware, enamel work and particularly his semi precious stone jewellery in the arts & crafts style.
The example on offer here is lovely example of his work - crafted in his usual metal of sterling silver the ring is fairly typical of a common style he used - the shoulders of the ring are decorated with his distinctive handcrafted leaves and flowers- to the centre of the ring is a large oval blue / lilac coloured chalcedony cabochon.
The ring is on a plain shank and is marked to the inside with a simple stamp of 'silver' (see pictures 7 and 11) - this in itself isn't unusual as frequently his work is neither signed with some examples not even marked as silver - for every 30 or 40 pieces of his work you see you'll find only one of them signed, but that said it is definitely one of his pieces.An older jewellery dealer I've purchased items from in the past has actually met Bernard Instone's son and asked why his father marked his work so infrequently - the simple answer was that his father didn't expect his work to be so sought 70 or 80 years after making them and so wasn't concerned about it at the time.
The ring is currently sized at approximately a UK size O or a US size 7-1/2 (internal diameter of 17.35mm)- the shank is thick enough to size it up or down should the buyer decide to do that - the total unpacked weight is 4.8g.
The condition all round is excellent with no faults to report - there are some perfectly normal signs of light wear given it is approaching around 90 years old but nothing worth mentioning - the silver has softened to a lovely patina.
This is a beautiful ring by a sought after designer and maker, please study the images provided to satisfy yourself as to the condition of the item - if you have any further questions please ask and I'll be happy to oblige.
At the time of listing I have a number of Instone pieces of jewellery, including rings, please take a look at my other listings.
Postage to U.K addresses is £4.50 (signed for) - postage to international addresses is £14.95 (tracked / signed)
Thanks for looking.
