JAMAICA HIGH SCHOOL RING: 1924
In 1999 there was a fundraising project for a library in Mercer Island, Washington, near Seattle. One person contributed a 14 karat Jamaica High School ring from 1924. A project volunteer contacted me and I bought the ring for the value of the gold content.
The ring's cartouche is shown above. It is a woman's ring and shows considerable wear. The cartouche's frame was originally inlaid with black enamel, which has mostly worn off. The areas above and below the beaver seal may also have been inlaid with enamel, possibly red or orange but that enamel, if it was ever there at all, is now completely worn off.
Inside the ring the owner's initials are engraved: E.C. Inspection of the 1924 yearbook showed that there were two alumnae whose initials were E.C. They were probably born in 1906, about 100 years ago now. In 1924 Jamaica High School was still in the Hillside Avenue building and construction of the new Gothic Drive building was about to begin in March 1925.(DFJ)
