Bog oak is a type of wood that comes from oak trees that have been buried in peat bogs for thousands of years. At some point, this black material became associated with Ireland (maybe there are lots of bogs there?) and lots of late 19th century Irish souvenir schlock - think harps, shamrocks - were churned out to sell to tourists. I've never seen bog oak used in mourning jewelry before, never this finely worked, and it's so old! Inside this band, we see death details for Mary Drevar, the wife of the Bank of Ireland's governor. This was an important family in Ireland in the early 1800s, and their house still stands in Rose Hill, Blackrock, Dublin. They were proud of their Irishness and used Bog Oak to telegraph this to the mourners at Mary's funeral in 1845. She lived a relatively cushy life, I imagine, and died at age 66.
MATERIALS: 10k gold (tests), bog oak
AGE: dedicated in 1845
CONDITION: Very good - slight wear to the interior engraving
SIZE: 5.5, cannot be resized; 9.4mm shank