Sapphire and diamond ring, 1902, possibly Turnbull Brothers. This elegant five-stone ring is set with a series of graduated unheated Sri Lankan sapphires, very well-matched for colour and clarity. The sides retain the beautiful scrollwork that is a strong indicator of late Victorian manufacture, and the shank is stamped with a perfectly preserved hallmark. British hallmarks are among the most detailed in the world, and are made up of a series of symbols. In this case, the crown is for Great Britain, the anchor indicates Birmingham, an historic centre of British jewellery manufacture, the lower case ‘c’ is a date letter for 1902, ‘18’ indicates18 carat gold, and finally the sponsor’s mark is T Bros, possibly referring to the Turnbull Brothers, who were silversmiths and jewellers between 1899 and 1922, based in Birmingham. All of this information comes together to anchor this beautiful ring precisely to a place and time – a very rare feat for any jewel.