Victorian Sardonyx & Hair Mourning Ring

Dated 1868. This 15KT gold Victorian mourning ring features a bezel-set polished oval sardonyx tablet. The shoulders are finely engraved with foliate detailing, while the dark inset panels contain preserved woven hairwork — a traditional 19th-century memorial practice.

Mourning rings of this period were deeply personal commemorative pieces, created to honor and remember a loved one. The use of sardonyx — a banded stone associated with strength and resilience — reflects the Victorian emphasis on remembrance not only as sorrow, but as enduring devotion, while the hairwork serves as a tangible connection to the deceased.

The interior of the band is engraved with the names of the deceased. The ring is a size 7.75.