Art Deco Platinum Opal, Emerald, And Sapphire Ring

For over 80 years, spanning three generations of family ownership, Kentshire Galleries has been one of the foremost dealers in fine antique and period jewelry and objets d’art. As the third generation of the family to lead Kentshire, Carrie Imberman and her brother, Matthew, continue to refine the gallery’s founding vision: buying and selling outstanding jewelry and objects of enduring design and elegance.

An Art Deco pear-shaped black opal ring flanked by graduated horizontal rows of alternating buff-top sapphire and emerald, in platinum. France #022715. Atw opal 3.6 cts.

Dating to circa 1925, this piece is particularly expressive of Art Deco's fascination with the tension between geometry and exceptional colored stones. The ring centers on a pear-shaped black opal, its deep blue body color alive with electric flashes of blue, green, and turquoise. The opal has an almost liquid quality, with broad fields of color appearing to shift and reorganize across its surface as the stone moves. Alternating rows of buff-top sapphires and emeralds step outward from either side of the center stone, their saturated blues and greens deliberately echoing the opal's play-of-color. The buff-top cutting gives these smaller stones softly rounded surfaces while retaining a crisp, architectural arrangement—an effective counterpoint to the opal's organic, constantly changing color. This contrast between rigid stepped lines and the opal's fluid color gives the jewel much of its visual energy.