A pair of gold betrothal rings reputed to have been exchanged by Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton, English, circa 1805,

1 by 3/4 in (2.5 by 2 cm) 2

Footnotes

The "13 9 bre" engraving indicates the date 13th September which is known as the day that Nelson took leave of Lady Hamilton for the final time before Trafalgar and therefore the abbreviated date on the Lover's Eye Ring must have been engraved after Nelson's departure. In all portraits of Emma Hamilton she is shown with brown eyes. Nelson and Emma exchanged betrothal rings in the form of gold clasped hands at a private ceremony at which they also took communion shortly before he left for Portsmouth. Removed from his finger after death, Nelson's ring was returned to Emma Hamilton together with many other of his personal possessions. Both rings are currently on view in the Nelson Gallery at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

Provenance
Henry Morton Lee, a noted collector of Nelson artefacts and manuscripts
Private English collection

Exhibited
International Art Treasures Exhibition presented by The British Antique Dealers' Association Ltd. in association with C.I.N.O.A. at the Assembly Rooms, Bath, 11th August - 8th September 1973.
Exhibit no. 268, catalogue entry reads:
A PAIR OF GEORGE III GOLD RINGS; exchanged by Admiral Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton. One bearing a miniature painting of Lady Hamilton's eye and the letter "H" engraved on the reverse, the other having the initial "H" in gold framed with seed pearls on a background of Nelson's hair, the reverse engraved with the date "13th September", the day on which Nelson left Merton for the last time.
Exhibitor: Morton Lee Esq.

Probably also exhibited at the Spinks exhibition "Nelson Relics" in aid of the "Save the Victory Fund", 1928
Exhibit 136 "Two of the pairs of rings exchanged between Admiral Viscount Nelson and Lady Hamilton. Kindly lent by Neslon Ward Esq.and Maurice Sucking Ward, Esq" (Horatia's grandsons)

Lovers' Eye Rings and Brooches.
Towards the end of the 18th century it became fashionable among the English upper classes to exchange rings or brooches mounted with a miniature of a loved one's eye. It is unknown how this trend came about although almost all stories involve the Prince of Wales (later King George IV) and Mrs Fitzherbert who were at the centre of the social scene of the period.
One story indicates that the style was started when the miniaturist Richard Cosway painted the right eye of the Prince for a locket given in 1785 to Mrs Fitzherbert. Another version says that that the lover's eye originated in the 1790's when the prince and Mrs Herbert exchanged eye miniatures set into rings painted by another artist, possibly George Engelheart.
The coy intent of such jewellery was to show society that one had a lover but was keeping the identity a secret by not revealing the whole face.