Vietnam or Korea Gold Ring

[Aguest]

This ring was passed down to me from an American pilot. In the days following the end of the Vietnam conflict, a north vietnamese man traded this ring to the American pilot in exchange for C rations and candy bars. The cabochon stone is Jadeite or Nephrite, and when you look through the stone you see some fibrous inclusions, which I have been told is an indicator for a real stone. The gold accents are of a rickshaw and pagoda, and there are birds and a tree bright-cut into the metal. I was told that the metal is not silver, but now that I see the Korean silver dagger in this forum it looks very similar in style. There are no hallmarks, unfortunately. I was told that the gold is 10k. The metal does not look like any silver ring that I have ever owned.

If the metal is not silver, is it possible that this ring was one of the rings created out of airplane metal such as the rings presented to Jane Fonda and Bill Ayers? I realize this is a sensitive subject, and I am not trying to offend anyone, but I have heard of these rings being produced and I have a picture of Jane Fonda wearing two of them around her neck with a similar chain. I could go to my local testing facility and have the shank tested for silver content and I could even test the gold, but I am afraid of any damage being done by the acid tests. I wish people would test metals without the use of harmful acids.

[davidross]

I am not certain what your question is, but if you are seeking opinions regarding the origin of the ring, here is one.

Looking only at the ring and for the while forgetting about provenance, this looks like a better quality piece in silver and gold, produced for the tourist trade somewhere in SE Asia during the late Art Deco period, say the 1930s, but possibly a decade or two later. The combination of the temple and the rickshaw point rather definitely to the tourist trade, as these two "exotic" motifs would probably never be associated with each other in the minds of local populations.

For that matter, I cannot imagine the North Vietnamese producing something like this. The rickshaw would seem to represent at the best, backwardness, and at the worst, the unequal distribution and exploitation of proletarian labor in a capitalist, colonial society. What the temple would represent to the North Vietnamese, I can hardly imagine, but what could be further from a Marxist utopian vision?

It would seem much more likely that this ring belonged to a French soldier and came into the hands of the North Vietnamese when the French pulled out of Vietnam, or that an American soldier bought the ring at a PX and "lost" it somewhere in the jungle. Given the ring's rather objectified view of Asia, it makes perfect sense that any Vietnamese, Viet Cong or otherwise, would find it prudent to get rid of something so utterly bourgeois and decadent before the new order came into full effect with the war's end.

At any rate, I very much doubt that the ring is Korean, as rickshaws are usually associated with more temperate climates.

Please bear in mind that this is only one opinion, based on a few photos, that is meant to suggest areas for further research. I would not limit research to Vietnam, but widen the scope to include SE Asia and in particular, Hong Kong. It would be interesting to know if the ring were already so heavily worn when it came into the possession of the American pilot, which might help date the ring. Testing the ring for metal content would surely help narrow the search. To wit, the better the quality of the stone and the metals, the more likely that the ring was produced in a cosmopolitan center.

A moderator will, no doubt, move this post to the Jewelry forum, where someone else may be able to shed more light on it.

Regards
DR

[Aguest]

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my somewhat rambling post. Chinese or other Asian location, typical of tourist trade rings, and art deco 1930's style are very helpful despite the absence of hallmarks. I will go ahead and have the metals tested, as this seems important and should not harm the ring.

[Aguest]

The shank of the ring did not test positive for silver, and it is another metal such as stainless steel in the opinion of the tester.
The gold does look real, however, it does appear 14k but it would be difficult to test so I declined to test the gold.
I have never heard of gold overlay on a stainless steel band, so I was confused about all aspects of this ring.

[Aguest]

I just happened to find another example of this ring, this time with a blue (glass or synthetic?) stone, slightly different applied gold elements :::

[AG2012]

Hi,
Chinese or French Indochina before the French pulled out (being found in the region).
NOT very likely to be trench art executed by North Vietnamese.The definition of trench art can be found elsewhere, including scrap metal used etc.
There are electronic testers now to determine exact composition of the alloy.Most jewelers have them.
Regards

[Aguest]

The electronic tester had trouble due to the stainless steel (or other base metal) part of the ring, but the metal was filed and tested positive for 10K gold so at least now we know that if anyone finds a ring like this, the applied elements on the side are 10K gold :::

Yes, not trench art, I just had never seen a stainless steel (or other base metal) ring with applied gold elements on the side, it still doesn't quite make sense to me, but there must have been a good reason for it which presently eludes me :::