925 Sterling Silver 10K Gold Vermeil Smoky Quartz Scroll Cocktail Ring - Size 7

Sterling silver ring with 10K gold vermeil, set with a large oval faceted smoky quartz in a scrolled openwork frame, marked 925. The stone is held in four prongs and sits high above a gallery of curled scrollwork that loops around the entire perimeter in a scalloped flower outline, each scroll pierced through so light passes behind the setting rather than stopping at it. The shank splits into a double band at the shoulders and runs smooth and polished to the back.

The stone is doing something more interesting than a clean one would. Smoky quartz at this depth of color reads nearly black at the crown and then opens up where light enters the pavilion, and this one carries internal veils that throw hard copper and amber flashes from inside the stone rather than off its surface. Tilt it and the body goes from cold brown to lit orange, then shuts back down. The gold vermeil frame is picked deliberately to work with that, warm metal against a warm stone, with the openwork keeping the whole crown from reading as one heavy mass.

Ring size 7. The setting stands tall and wide across the finger, which is the entire point of a cocktail ring.

Verifications:
10K gold has been verified using an Auracle Gold Analyzer.
Sterling silver has been verified using JSP Silver Testing Solution.
Smoky quartz has been verified using a Presidium Gem Tester II.

Details:
Metal: Sterling Silver
Finish: 10K Gold Vermeil
Hallmark: 925
Stone: Smoky Quartz
Stone Cut: Oval Faceted
Setting: Four Prong
Design: Scrolled Openwork Frame
Band Style: Split Shank
Ring Size: 7
Condition: Excellent estate condition

Fun Facts:
Smoky quartz is colorless quartz that has been irradiated. Trace aluminum sits in the crystal lattice, and natural gamma radiation from the surrounding rock knocks electrons loose over geological time to create color centers that absorb light and turn the stone brown. Heat it and the color leaves entirely. Irradiate it again and it comes back.
Smoky quartz is the national gem of Scotland, where it is called cairngorm after the mountain range it was mined from, and Highlanders set it into the pommel of the sgian dubh and into plaid brooches for centuries before it was ever a fashion stone anywhere else.