The Vesper Halo

Look closely and the navette ring gives itself away as Belle Époque: sapphires, carrying a soft royal blue that seems to come from inside, held by fine millegrain. The detail is built up bead by bead, a technique half-lost by the time this was made. A dealer we trust brought it down from a Lisbon family, kept in a bank drawer far longer than it was ever worn. You can tell it was worn, not kept — the highest thing we can say of a piece.