Collection / No. 13

Signet Ring with a Bearded Head in a Clear Stone

Signet Ring with a Bearded Head in a Clear Stone

Hellenistic style · 21.1K gold

An oval of colourless stone engraved with a bearded male head in profile, in a plain high-carat gold band.

Form
Signet ring
Gold
21.1 karat — 87.7% gold by XRF
Stones
Set with a colourless stone engraved in intaglio with a bearded head
Weight
4 g including the stone
Dimensions
Height 2.2 cm (⅞ in.); bezel 1.4 cm (½ in.)
Ring size
6½ (US)
Style
Hellenistic style; made now
Reference
CG-13

$640

In stock. Price includes packing; insured shipping is quoted at cost once we know where it is going. To buy it, or to ask anything first, write to us — we reply the same day and send an invoice you can pay by card or transfer.

Enquire about this piece

The bearded head in profile — a god, a philosopher or a king — is the classic subject of the Greek and Roman gem-engraver, and a colourless stone lets it be read from the front as well as in impression. Pressed into wax, it leaves a clear portrait.

The gold reads 87.7 per cent by XRF, just over 21 karat: the richest metal in the collection, and visibly warmer in colour than the 18-karat pieces around it.

A small size: 6½ (US), 4 grams including the stone.

About our pieces