Jane Austen's Gold & Turquoise Ring Goes Up For Auction

Today, Sotheby’s will be auctioning off a gorgeous gold and turquoise ring once owned by author, Jane Austen. The ring is expected to fetch $46,000!

In an article on the USA Today website titled, Jane Austen's ring expected to sell for $46,000 at auction, by Rachel EllBaum, comes the following excerpt:

The natural turquoise ring set in gold was unknown to Austen scholars and fans until now. It originally belonged to the “Pride and Prejudice” author who passed it down to her sister, Cassandra, after her death. Cassandra then gave it to their future sister in-law, Eleanor. It remained in this large family until now when the owner, who has no daughters, decided to sell it.

The ring, which lies in a box contemporary to the time, is being auctioned off along with a note written in November 1863 by Eleanor Austen to her niece Caroline Austen, reading: "My dear Caroline. The enclosed ring once belonged to your Aunt Jane. It was given to me by your Aunt Cassandra as soon as she knew that I was engaged to your uncle. I bequeath it to you. God bless you!"

The most famous piece of jewelry owned by Austen is a topaz cross, now on display in the Jane Austens’s House Museum in England. The turquoise ring is the first piece of her jewelry to be up for auction in at least a generation.

What a lovely piece of literary history! 

UPDATE: Jane Austen ring brings $236,000 at auction!! That's more than five times what it was expected to bring in!