Nineteenth century customers could choose from a vast range of styles for their rings - historically inspired, based on archaeological excavations, set with cameos, ivory scenes or miniature portraits. However, the majority of rings were probably much simpler gem-set rings, relying on the massed array of coloured gemstones for their appeal.

The arrangement of diamonds on each side of the bezel and the cusped gold settings of this ring were inspired by early eighteenth century jewellery but opals were not widely used in that period. Opals had been highly valued for their iridescent flashes of colour but by the nineteenth century, they had acquired a reputation for being unlucky, in part inspired by the opal hair ornament in Walter Scott's story of Anne of Geierstein. However, Queen Victoria was fond of the stone and presented opal jewellery to her five daughters. The discovery of very fine opals in Australia in 1870 also increased the supply and made their use in jewellery more common.