Vintage Pierre Meunier 925 Sterling Silver Blue Topaz Diamond Halo Ring – Size 7

Vintage Pierre Meunier sterling silver ring set with a cushion cut blue topaz in a diamond halo, marked 925 with the P star M signature inside the shank. The topaz is bezel set at the center of a squared plaque, cut with a checkerboard crown so the top of the stone is faceted into a grid of small facets rather than one open table. The halo runs the full perimeter of the plaque and combines eight real diamonds with illusion settings, the metal worked and bright cut so the diamond count reads far higher across the face. The shank splits into a double band at the shoulders and runs flat and polished to the back.

The checkerboard cut is the decision that makes this stone work. A large pale blue topaz cut conventionally gives you one wide table and a lot of quiet surface, but breaking the crown into a grid turns the whole top of the stone into a field of small independent reflections, so the color stays light while the stone flickers hard from every angle. Set low in a bezel with the halo rising around it, the topaz sits inside the plaque rather than on top of it, and the squared outline keeps the whole face reading as a single geometric block on the finger. The illusion work carries the brilliance of the eight diamonds across the entire halo so the perimeter stays lit from edge to edge.

Ring size 7. The flat squared top sits low and wears easily under a glove or a cuff.

Verifications:
Sterling silver has been verified using JSP Silver Testing Solution.
Blue topaz has been verified using a Presidium Gem Tester II.
Diamonds have been verified using a Presidium Adamas Diamond Tester, which specifically distinguishes diamonds from moissanite.

Details:
Designer: Pierre Meunier
Metal: Sterling Silver
Hallmarks: 925, P star M
Center Stone: Blue Topaz
Center Stone Cut: Cushion Checkerboard
Setting: Bezel
Accent Stones: Diamond
Diamond Count: 8
Halo: Diamonds with Illusion Settings
Band Style: Split Shank
Ring Size: 7
Condition: Excellent estate condition

Fun Facts:
Topaz has perfect cleavage in one direction, a plane running straight across the crystal where the stone will split cleanly if struck right. Cutters orient the table at a deliberate angle to that plane rather than parallel to it, which is why a well cut topaz is never faceted square to its own weakest axis.
The illusion setting is a nineteenth century jeweler's answer to an expensive problem. Cutting and bright polishing the metal immediately around a small stone throws light at the same angle the stone does, so the eye reads metal and diamond as one continuous brilliant surface and a modest stone carries the visual weight of a much larger one.