RARE Exquisite Ostby Barton Huge Purple Glass Stone Sterling Silver Filigree Ring Size 5 US

Very Rare HUGE Ostby Barton Purple Glass Sterling Silver Ring Sz 5 Heirloom WOW! You would be the third owner! Consigned by a granddaughter of the original owner! Amazing condition for the age! This ring is very rare. I have never come across one this large and in this nice of condition in my 40 years of collecting vintage and antique jewelry. Read the following, if you are interested in history:


**History of Ostby & Barton Jewelry Co. and the Titanic's Historical Significance**

Ostby and Barton Co. was founded in 1879 by Engelhart Cornelius Ostby and Nathan B. Barton. Prior to this partnership, Ostby trained as a jeweler at Norway’s Royal School of Art and completed a six-year apprenticeship in Oslo.

In 1869, Ostby emigrated to the U.S. with his family. He gained experience working for Hunt & Owen and Arnold and Webster, focusing on jewelry design and engraving. With only about three thousand dollars in capital, Ostby and Barton quickly became renowned as leading ring manufacturers, recognizable by their "O-B" stamp.

Traveling frequently to Europe allowed Ostby and his daughter Helene to study jewelry design. Their final trip together was to France in 1912, just before they would embark on a tragic journey back to Providence, Rhode Island. Upon learning of the Titanic's voyage to New York, Ostby purchased first-class tickets, securing cabin B-30 for himself and B-36 for Helene. He carried a black leather doctor’s bag filled with gems and souvenirs from Paris.

On April 14, 1912, at 11:40 P.M., the Titanic struck an iceberg. Helene recalled the chaos: “It seemed completely silent for a minute or two... The first voice I heard was a woman asking the steward what had happened. He replied calmly, 'Everything will be all right.'"

After the collision, Ostby and Helene ascended the grand staircase with their friends, the Warrens. When Ostby went to retrieve warmer clothing, Helene was urged onto a lifeboat. Despite wanting her father to join her, she obeyed the men’s insistence and boarded, never to see him again.

On the lifeboat, Helene remembered losing a diamond bar pin from her father, left behind on the ship. She noted, “When reminded, it didn’t matter.” At 64 years old, Ostby perished along with approximately 1,500 others. His body was later recovered by Mackay-Bennett.

After the tragedy, Helene returned to Providence and took over the family business with her brother Harold and his daughter. The company continued to thrive into the 1950s, advertising a wide range of jewelry including rings, bar pins, cuff links, and more.

An advertisement in The Saturday Evening Post in 1917 praised the company: “Women of taste and experience have found one unfailing test of a jeweler’s standards of style and value—How does he regard Ostby & Barton Jewelry? The strongest feature of his stock will be Ostby & Barton—the foremost house among the jewelry makers of this country.”

Helene passed away on May 15, 1978, at the age of 88, and was laid to rest near her father. Today, Ostby & Barton jewelry remains highly coveted among antique collectors, valued for its artistry and connection to the Titanic, with many pieces over a century old still in exceptional condition.