Poison Ring, Compartment with Glass, Moonstone by: Anonymous
Hi Teresa,
that's an unusual find indeed! It looks quite ancient, doesn't it. The type of finger ring named the "poison ring" - typically has a hinged bezel like yours that conceals a compartment like your poison ring which was said to hold a poison although no such use has factually ever been established. The compartment usually contained a perfume or some personal relic and not actually a "poison".
This ring is either very old, or crafted to look very old, in a somewhat primitive style. The metal content isn't so important - it looks like silver plated over brass or some other base material.
The stone is interesting too. It could be moonstone, quartz or glass. Moonstone is a mysterious looking gem, and would suit and when cut EN CABOCHON has a SHEEN known as ADULARESCENCE due to alternate layers of albite which spread the light falling on the dome. The finest moonstone has a bluish sheen, and on the more common moonstone the sheen appears white.
Moonstone has been imitated in GLASS. Many 10K yellow gold ring from the middle of the 19th century were set with glass "stones".
