This incredible white mourning ring was made for Johanna Bayley, who died on Februrary 19, 1789, at the age of 23. The inscription on the band says “Johanna Bayley . OB : 19. FEB : 1786 . AET : 23”
The ring is in excellent condition with a white enamel border and an 18k gold bright cut band. The miniaturist painted a scene of a draped urn on a pedestal underneath a weeping willow tree.

The ring is a size US 9.75 UK size T.

Excellent condition

Portuguese Rococo Imperial Topaz and Enamel Flower Brooch, circa 1760–1770

A beautiful 18th-century Portuguese Rococo flower jewel, set with seventeen imperial topazes and green enamel in silver.

Originally made as a hair jewel in the 1760s–1770s, it was later converted into a brooch, as happened with many surviving Portuguese flower jewels as fashions changed.

The flower is centered by a single topaz and surrounded by eight petals, each made from two stones: one trapezoidal-cut topaz and one triangular-cut topaz. Eight green enamel leaves are arranged between the petals, giving the piece a wonderful contrast of rich golden color and vivid green.

The topazes are foil-backed, a traditional 18th-century technique used to enhance their color and brilliance and to catch the light beautifully. The stones were mined in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil, which was an important source of the colored gemstones used in Portuguese jewelry during this period.

A very similar Portuguese example combining topaz and green enamel is illustrated in “Gonçalo de Vasconcelos e Sousa, A Joalharia em Portugal, 1750–1825”, p. 70. Similar Portuguese floral jewels are also illustrated on p. 175 of “Georgian Jewellery”.

Silver, imperial topaz, and green enamel
Circa 1760–1770
Portugal
Approximately 3 cm diameter
12.5 grams

Western European / Iberian
Circa 1680–1700
This exceptional Western European diamond brooch, worn as a dress jewel, dates to the late 17th century, circa 1680–1700, and exemplifies refined late‑Baroque goldsmithing at the threshold of the Rococo. Executed in high‑karat gold (over 18kt), the brooch is set throughout with a mixture of 35 diamonds, comprising late table‑cut and early rose‑cut stones, all mounted in fine rub‑over collets with boxed bezels - hallmarks of elite European workshops of the period.
The brooch is organized as a clustered composition, a format widely favored in late‑Baroque dress jewelry, in which diamonds were arranged in symmetrical, radial groupings around a central focal point. The design is articulated along the cardinal axes, with four principal diamonds placed north, south, east, and west. These stones are distinguished by their classical pie‑crust edging, a deeply scalloped surround characteristic of late‑17th‑century workmanship and strongly associated with Western European goldsmithing traditions of the period, including those of the Iberian Peninsula.
The diamonds display a notably watery, silvery appearance, consistent with early Indian sources that continued to supply Europe well into the late 17th century. The presence of both late table‑cut and early rose‑cut diamonds within the same jewel reflects normal workshop practice around 1700, when earlier cuts remained in circulation and were frequently set alongside rose cuts as diamond‑cutting techniques evolved.
The overall design is animated by lively rocaille scrollwork, with fluid, curling turns that anticipate the Rococo while retaining Baroque symmetry. These elegant gold forms create a sense of movement and visual richness, enhancing the play of light across the diamond surfaces and reinforcing the jewel’s intended impact in candlelit settings.

High carat gold and diamond

3.7cm

center table cut diamond, approximately 3.0mm by 3.14mm

An incredibly rare mourning ring made for Princess Amelia, the daughter of King George Ill and Queen Charlotte, who died from tuberculosis and erysipelas. This ring was made for someone close to her or a member of the royal court. This ring is part of a set of 50 or 52 (accounts vary) which were commissioned by her brother and executor of her will, the Prince Regent, later George IV, to mark her life. It is inscribed “REMEMBER ME”and with her initial A. The rings were made by the Royal goldsmiths, Rundell, Bridge & Rundell and distributed to family and members of the court.

Amelia’s death and the downfall of George III

Princess Amelia was George III’s youngest daughter and was particularly beloved by him. By 1810, the King was already elderly, nearly blind and had suffered previous episodes of severe mental illness. As Amelia’s condition deteriorated, contemporary accounts describe him repeatedly summoning her doctors—reportedly beginning around 7 a.m. and several more times throughout the day to question them about her condition.

Then came the episode that makes Amelia’s mourning jewelry unusually poignant.

As she was dying, Amelia said to her father, “Remember me.”

The words subsequently became the defining inscription on the mourning rings created in her memory.

Amelia died on 2 November 1810, aged only 27.

This time he never recovered sufficiently to rule again. His incapacity led to the establishment of the Regency in 1811, with his son governing as Prince Regent. George III lived another decade, increasingly isolated by illness, blindness and deafness, until his death in 1820.

So Amelia’s death occupies an extraordinary place in British royal history: the death of a 27-year-old princess became intertwined with the final collapse of the monarch who had reigned through the American Revolution and much of the Napoleonic era.

Georgian 1810

Materials: 18k gold, white, red, gold, and black enamel

Size US 6.25/UK M

1.8×2×2 cm