Friday Fun Victorian Style

The Victorians were quite romantic. Every etiquette book written in the period that I’ve seen includes a chapter on writing love letters, for example.

Love letters, however, were only one way young Victorians conveyed romantic messages, which could be difficult to deliver in person due to the ever-present chaperones. Couples used other means to express their feelings, such as flowers, calling cards, and gifts.

Only when a couple was officially courting could a gentleman offer his ladylove jewelry. One item he might have given her was a ring, perhaps a very special kind of ring, one that oozed romance. These rings spelled out words using the first letter of each gemstone.

The most popular ring of this kind was the Regard Ring pictured above, a replica sold by The London Victorian Ring Co. Can you name the five different gemstones used to spell R-E-G-A-R-D? Note that the stone used for the R’s was the same type.

Another ring given by gentleman to their ladies to express their love, although not as often as the Regard Ring, was a Dearest Ring.

Using the picture of the ring above, sold by the same company, can you give the name of the six stones used to spell D-E-A-R-E-S-T? Note that the type of gemstone used for the two E’s was the same. Since four of the stones are also used in the Regard Ring, you only need to come up with two new ones.

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Update and Answer

The gemstones used for the Regard Ring were:

Ruby
Emerald
Garnet
Amethyst
Ruby
Diamond

The gemstones used for the Dearest Ring were:

Diamond
Emerald
Amethyst
Ruby
Emerald
Sapphire
Topaz

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