Saturday, March 8, 2008

Some Favorite Antique Jewelry

I thought I would occassionally share photos of some of my favorite antique jewelry pieces that we have sold. Some of these were really hard to let go of, but I know they have found good homes.

This is a Georgian era enameled mourning brooch framed in gold. It is just exquisite - done in beautiful, soft blues, greens and pinks. The scene depicted is so sad - a pair of doves, one dead on the ground, the other looking down from a tree branch. The banner above reads "Je pleure sa mort" - French for "I mourn his death". It is especially poignant because doves mate for life.

Death was all too common in the 19th century, and mourning jewelry will be the topic for a later blog.



This full face enameled tiger is done in 14K gold and sports a .12 point European cut diamond in his open mouth along with intense, natural green garnet eyes. He dates from the Edwardian era, circa 1915 and is a great example of both figural and enamel jewelry.



This is an exceptional French paste pin crafted from sterling silver and depicting an elegant floral arrangement in a vase. The blooms are white paste around blue cabochon paste centers. Sparkling baguettes form the vase, and the whole thing is finished with dramatic black enamel accents. It is a fine example of an early Art Deco transitional piece, c. 1920. It is hallmarked with a diamond shape, “Made in France” and a stamped mark too tiny to make out – possibly the French boar’s head for silver, but could also be a maker’s mark.



So there you are - just a couple of my favorite pieces - I will periodically add more to this blog. If YOU have a favorite piece, I would love to see it and can post it here if you like. Or, if you are a member of blogcatalog.com, I just started a new antique jewelry group there where you are welcome to post YOUR perfect jewels! : ) It is located HERE.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I really love the jewelry specially the exhibitions where i can appreciate all types and styles of earing, necklace and bracelets. I really love to shine outstanding and gorgeous every time because i am trying to conquer a handsome boy...
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Jay said...

This is an exceptional antique jewelry. Great collection of antique jewelry.
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