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A work made of gold, tourmaline, and traces of enamel.

Ring

c. 1525–c. 1575

Probably Italian

Italy

Bold in color, this ring is in keeping with mid- to late sixteenth-century Italian Renaissance fashion. Its large step-cut pink tourmaline is mounted on a cast gold setting, ornamented with a series of scrolls colored with touches of blue, green, and white enameling. In the period, many stones, like tourmaline, were believed to hold healing properties, and therefore thought beneficial as well as fashionable to wear.

Gold, tourmaline, and traces of enamel

Applied Arts of Europe