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- Antique Rare French Ring with Optical Lens ("Lunette de Doigt")
Antique Rare French Ring with Optical Lens ("Lunette de Doigt")
$3,250.00
Antique Rare French Ring with Optical Lens ("Lunette de Doigt")
$3,250.00
What a find! It’s a ring! It’s a quizzer! It’s a quizzer that is a finger ring!
We have never seen another. Over the years, we have encountered numerous lorgnettes and quizzing glasses of all shapes and materials — but this is the first time we have ever beheld a quizzer mounted on a finger ring. We sighted this rare and whimsical “lunette de doigt” in Paris and knew immediately it would be ours.
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, quizzers were fashionable accessories (maybe more so than visual aids), and men and women alike used them to openly appraise each other. Just imagine the 19th century lady who peered through this ring over the top of her raised hand to stare at (or stare down) the who’s who at a social event. Absolutely next level.
Wear as a ring (with care) or as a pendant on a chain or ribbon (suspend from a dog clip or similar, so the ring lays flat).
Marked with the French horse’s head (in use 1838-1919), French Mercury head (in use for export), maker’s mark “NL” (possibly for Nathan Livchitz) and an additional unidentified mark.
18k gold, glass.
Dimensions and weight:
● 48.4 mm long
● 31.5 mm wide
● 2.2 mm deep
● US finger size 4
● 6.2 grams
Period: Early Victorian (circa 1840)
*Please note that all dimensions and weights are approximate. Age-commensurate wear may be present. The current lens appears to be corrective for short sightedness (for viewing objects at a distance), but of course, your own prescription lens may be inserted by an optician.
*For deliveries outside of the continental U.S., please contact us for shipping information.
What a find! It’s a ring! It’s a quizzer! It’s a quizzer that is a finger ring!
We have never seen another. Over the years, we have encountered numerous lorgnettes and quizzing glasses of all shapes and materials — but this is the first time we have ever beheld a quizzer mounted on a finger ring. We sighted this rare and whimsical “lunette de doigt” in Paris and knew immediately it would be ours.
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, quizzers were fashionable accessories (maybe more so than visual aids), and men and women alike used them to openly appraise each other. Just imagine the 19th century lady who peered through this ring over the top of her raised hand to stare at (or stare down) the who’s who at a social event. Absolutely next level.
Wear as a ring (with care) or as a pendant on a chain or ribbon (suspend from a dog clip or similar, so the ring lays flat).
Marked with the French horse’s head (in use 1838-1919), French Mercury head (in use for export), maker’s mark “NL” (possibly for Nathan Livchitz) and an additional unidentified mark.
18k gold, glass.
Dimensions and weight:
● 48.4 mm long
● 31.5 mm wide
● 2.2 mm deep
● US finger size 4
● 6.2 grams
Period: Early Victorian (circa 1840)
*Please note that all dimensions and weights are approximate. Age-commensurate wear may be present. The current lens appears to be corrective for short sightedness (for viewing objects at a distance), but of course, your own prescription lens may be inserted by an optician.
*For deliveries outside of the continental U.S., please contact us for shipping information.