DATE: Space Age, c.1960

Striking vintage ring dating from the 1960s "Space Age". The oval head is concave, reminiscent of a satellite dish, with a gorgeous rose quartz cabochon in the centre. It's crafted in 14 karat yellow gold with simple split shoulders. 

The Space Age, aka Atomic Age, refers to the period between 1957 and the early 1970s (although some would argue we're still in it). Movements in architecture, interior design, film and television, automotive design, music, fashion, and jewellery were directly inspired by the cultural obsessions of the time: atomic science, the Space Race and space exploration generally, futurism, and, at its heart, modernism. The designs were forward looking and often radical, incorporating the functionalism and utilitarian trends of the modernist movement and fusing these with new, futuristic forms and advances in material science - plastics particularly. Jewellery of the period was often directly inspired by celestial objects or spacecraft (Sputnik, the Apollo lunar lander, Starship Enterprise, etc. were all replicated as miniature, wearable pieces of precious metal), indeed Jackie Onassis celebrated her 40th birthday wearing a pair of Apollo 11 Moon earrings by LALAoUNIS.

STONES 

Rose Quartz Cabochon - 13.7 x 9.9mm

MEASUREMENTS 

Head: 2.3 x 1.4cm

Width of band: 3.3mm

WEIGHT 

6.0g

MARKS 

Stamped 585 (14k gold)

CONDITION 

Very good, light wear commensurate with age