The Meridian Crown

Look closely and the panel ring gives itself away as Art Nouveau: opals, worn thin at the back where a hand has turned it for a century, held by chased naturalistic goldwork. The gallery is sawn through with a saw-blade no thicker than a hair. A dealer we trust brought it down from a family near Lyon, kept in a bank drawer far longer than it was ever worn. Nothing about it was made to impress, which is exactly why it does.