Koi, Whimsical Nautical FISH Silver Ring, Hand made, Vintage, Size US 5.5, Estate Jewelry,

Welcome to Julia's antique Spanish jewelry box! I found an old jewelry box at an estate sale in southern Spain, and inside, I found many treasures belonging to a woman named Julia Maria.

Come look inside the jewelry box with me, and go back in time!

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If you want to see more from Julia's jewelry box, go to my store and look under the shop category "Fine Estate Jewelry". There you can see all of Julia's treasures.

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Item Description:

One of a kind antique FISH ring made of silver.

Found at an estate sale. A real treasure!

Very whimisical, nautical, interesting, funny, conversation starter.

It is NOT marked .925, but it is NOT magnetic (which means metal) so I am making an educated guess that it is silver.

US ring size is US 5.5, but see photos for exact measurements.



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Provenance:

As I went through the jewels and trinkets in the jewelry box, a picture began to form of who the person that owned these treasures. Her name was probably Julia Maria, and she was a sophisticated Spanish lady from a Catholic family, and probably a woman of faith herself. I figured this out from the four personalised pieces of jewelry that she owned.

1.) She owned a pendant or keychain made of sterling silver with her name engraved on the back, "Julia," and on the front, an engraving of Saint Christopher. There was no date, but it shows that Julia was Catholic or from a Catholic family. This makes sense because most Spaniards are Catholic.

2.) She was given a beautiful yellow gold, blue sapphire and black marcasite ring by a fellow named Enrique on January 25th, 1946, which was engraved on the inside of the band ENRIQUE 25 - 1- 46. That was 78 years ago, so if she was a teenager or young woman when she received that ring from Enrique, she must have been born around the 1920s. The 1920s was the interwar period in Europe, the period between WWI and WWII. Spain also suffered their own civil war from 1936 to 1939. So she was probably born before WWI, lived through the Spanish Civil War and WWII as a young woman, and was given this ring by Enrique in 1946 after WWII (which ended 1945). I wonder what her life was like.

3.) In 1955 she was given a sterling silver pendant of the Virgin Mary with her named engraved on the back, Julia Maria 10 - 2 - 53, which is February 10th, 1953. Virgin Mary pendants are traditionally given to Catholic young girls to celebrate their first communion (age 7-9 years old), and also given to women to celebrate their engagement, wedding, or birth of a child. Given that Enrique had already given her a ring in 1946, it seems unlikely that she was a child in 1953. My best educated guess was that this was given as a wedding present in 1953. This especially so, because February 10th was apparently an important enough date to celebrate that Julia was given another engraved present on the same date 11 years later, which brings us to the next item of jewelry...

4.) Eleven years later in 1964 she was given a coral and gold necklace along with a matching coral and pearl ring, which was engraved with another date, 10 - 2 - 1964 (February 10th, 1962). This is exactly 11 years after she was given the engraved Virgin Mary pendant. That leads me to believe that the Virgin Mary pendant was given as a wedding gift and this golden coral necklace and ring set was given as an anniversary gift. I wonder if she ended up marrying Enrique... :)

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About me:

I have been selling antique & unique items from the south of Spain, France & Europe for over 5 years. I am an American living in Spain with my husband and two young children. Our family is passionate about all things antique & rare. You can check out my shop to see my 5 star reviews from happy customers. When you buy from me, you can rest assured that I will treat you well!