Catalog: Antiques: Decorative Art: Jewelry (230)

Charming 18K Victorian gypsy ring with a solitaire diamonds set in an unusual carved pointed petal setting with incised flourishes along the shoulders which are a nice detail.. This type of mounting was popular through the 19th century and into the 20th. The gem is set flush with the gold band creating a secure setting for people with active lifestyles...

Lovely early Victorian bow pin of white woven hair set with turquoise in 15K gold. Hair jewelry was primarily of a romantic or loving nature. Queen Victoria was given a brooch made from her mother's hair for her 16th birthday. This pin measures 1 3/4" wide by 1 3/4" high by 1/4" deep.

Lovely sapphire ring with three large sapphires and four small diamonds, an unusual variation of the form of a classic five stone half hoop diamond ring (the each pair of small diamonds read as one larger diamond). Five stone rings were crafted to show emphasis on the gemstones. The ring is set with the gemstones "a jour", or "open to the day", meaning the ring can be worn for hand washing and is appropriate for everyday wear. The stones are polished and clear...

This a rare poesy holder, of sterling silver with an intricate cased foliate design and long pin and ring attached. Known also as Tussie-Mussies, the posy holder was a lady's fashion accessory resembling a small vase and meant to to hold the bouquet of flowers brought by a courting 'gentleman caller'. To show her acceptance of him, the lady would secure the flowers into the posy holder with the attached long pin and wear the holder to a ball...

Lovely early Victorian sterling silver paste pendant with a border of paste stones and royal blue enamel, most likely was a pendant given as a gift to a loved one. The beautiful blue color represented innocence and virtue and was probably given to a young woman by her suitor. Women adored their paste jewelry as much as their diamonds, so the use of paste stones indicates this was likely owned by a member of the "upper crust". The pendant is approximately 1 1/4 inches.

The term "pique" comes from the French word "piquer" (to prick) and describes a method of inlaying gold or silver onto tortoiseshell. The craft was discovered and perfected in the 17th century by the French Huguenots. The Huguenots later taught the craft to English jewelry artisans. These classical pique earrings with their Greek key design, are a perfect example of the sophistication, polish, depth and natural beauty of pique jewelry...

The sporting craze in Victorian jewelry started in the 1890's and continued into the 20th century up until WWI. Encouraged by women's more active participation in sports, such jewelry was particularly fashionable for country wear. Our bangle is a slightly more modern version of the Victorian silver bangle, with a silver ball in the center of the tennis racket as the main motif, and stylized leaves to the left...

C.1860 18ct Pietra-Dura Flower Brooch Antique 18K Gold Pietra Dura Brooch, Italy C.1875. Oval shape brooch with fine pietra dura floral green, robins egg blue inlay colors,and white and gold flowers as accents. 18K surround gold mount with 8 gold X's soldered symmetrically around the gold border.

Lovely gray lava beads which were inspired by the ruins of Pompeii in Italy. Lava jewelry was actually made from the lava of Mt. Vesuvius as souvenir jewelry fro travelers on the Grand Tour. Notice how the beads are properly graduated, as one would only see on early jewelry made before mass production. The smallest beads at the clasp gradually getting larger until the central bead, which is appropriately the largest and the place where the eye is drawn to.

This is a silky smooth gorgeous original French watch chain. Silky smooth about the neck, it has a wonderful texture as only 18K gold has. There is a French eagle's head on the clasp showing its French provenance.

Wonderful Victorian 18k gold fringe earrings that will swing and sway as you walk down the street or dance the night away. Beautiful cannetille bead work, the earrings measure 2" long from the top of the ear wire to the bottom ball of the longest fringe.

Striking Victorian banded agate earrings set in 15K gold. The brown and black tones make them wearable with any color. The earrings measure 1" in diameter and date to 1890.

Often confused with Whitby Jet, French Jet is polished glass with a more brilliant luster and flashier. Like Whitby Jet, it is truly antique, of the (Victorian) period, and no longer made, and therefore highly collectible. Like Whitby Jet, it was often used for mourning. This lightweight collar has a classic and unique look, looks terrific on and can be adjusted to different lengths about the neck, as it has a simple ribbon tie closure...

Unusual lightweight original watch chain of made of gunmetal, an alloy of copper and tin that was used to make decorative chains, purses, brooches, buckles and other items during the Victorian era. Our chain has alternating links and balls throughout and the pattern is consistent and uninterrupted (this is something we look for and is important because it shows the chain is in its original condition with no links removed)...

This beautiful gold chain has a nice thick substantial link and its smooth texture reminds one of the "slinky" toy of old, in that it falls smoothly in place no matter how it lands. The chain is quite long at 44 inches and it has a well functioning dog tag to hold your pendant. There is no clasp. The chain is 44 inches long and 1/8 of an inch wide and can be looped over the head and worn 2 or 3 times around. The chain easily stands alone...

Fanciful Victorian silver collar with a silver locket embellished with two-color gold. The necklace and locket are adorned with geometric arch motifs and engravings. The necklace measures 16 1/2" long and 3/4" wide and the locket measures 1 5/8" long and is hallmarked 1881.

Smart and tailored gutta percha necklace or collar, tie it on and walk away. Gutta percha is a black or brown hard rubber like material made from the sap of a Malayan tree. In the late Victorian period it was molded in various forms to make jewelry. This necklace measures 13" long by 1 1/4" at its widest

Wonderful silver cuff depicting a classical arch design including rose gold flowers and yellow gold arches with etched tendrils growing in between. There is a Vaughton's Patent trademark inscription on the inside. Vaughton's was an English manufacturer in Birmingham, still in existence, which made silver jewelry to appeal to all classes of society, including the "working" girl...

15K gold fede or love ring with two hands coming together to enclose a gold heart with a single rose-cut diamond embedded in a carved star at the center. The word "fede" means faith. The clasped hands motif has been used since Roman times. The ring is US size 8.25.

Exceptional mourning band of the Regency period, with stripes of black enamel bordered with gold trim sandwiched between chased floral borders. The inscription reads "Mrs. Anne Smith Cunninghame of Caprington died 1st of March 1830." on the inside. The Scottish origin of the name Cunningham of Caprington along with the prefix "Mrs." tells us this ring was made in loving memory of a beloved Scottish wife...

Colorful depiction of a peasant girl graces this micromosaic brooch purchased during the Grand Tour and brought back to England to be set in an elaborate 18K bezel decorated with grapes and leaves. The glass tesserae are set in malachite.

Antique 19th century Berlin Iron necklace with a Berlin Iron heart and cross. Berlin Iron jewelry is highly prized for its intricate work and rarity. During the Napoleonic Wars wealthy Germans gave their precious jewels for the war effort and substituted them with iron jewelry...

Flat cut almandine garnets were the most popular gemstone of the Georgian period shown here in a rarely found naturalistic floral and leaf design necklace set in 18K gold. The pansy shaped flowers represent remembrance.

Fantastic Georgian 18K gold cuff bracelet with an elaborate woven band and ornate central motif. Beautiful to wear on the most elegant of occasions. Be prepared for an avalanche of compliments. The bracelet measures 7 1/2" long and 2" at its widest.

This wonderful lava ring was sold in Naples to travelers on the Grand Tour as souvenir jewelry in the 1820’s to 40's after the discovery of the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the 18th century. Made by Pompeian stone cutters, each of the seven round heads of the ring is distinctly carved and is of a different hue as well as a different mythological figure and comes from a different organic material sourced from Vesuvius. The cameos represent the days of the week, The grey cameo represents ...

These lovely 18K day-night floral gold cannetille earrings boast one of the finest examples of cannetille gold work we have ever seen. Popular in both England and France in the 1820's, cannetille was a type of filigree work named after the gold embroideries of the Napoleonic era. It lasted for a brief 2 decades, making it easy to date a piece of jewelry that is as fine an example of cannetille as these. Typical of Georgian design, the tops of the earrings can be separated from the bottoms making...

Lovely drop rose cut diamond earrings in the pendeloque or pear shape. The pendeloque earring shape is a pear-shaped design used for diamonds and was a popular shape for both 17th and 18th-century French earrings. The earrings are day/night, meaning the tops and bottoms can be separated and the tops worn for conservative day time wear, and top and bottom together for special occasion wear. These lovely earrings, which glittered so beautifully in candlelight, are as beautiful today as they were ...

Three inch long day-night earrings with a lovely rococo design that incorporates foliate and shell motifs set with Persian turquoise and enlivened by the two-color 15K gold. The earrings have a secure hook on the back of the drop part of the earring, not typically seen on Georgian day-night earrings. This enables enabling them to easily be separated and worn with just the tops (for day), or both top and bottom (at night). The mechanism attaching the two pieces can be viewed in the photos.

Unusual paste earrings with three curved lines of paste gemstones dripping from a central paste cluster. Paste earrings rose in popularity in 18th century France when improvements in domestic candlelight made the appeal of such glittering gemstones soar.Paste is a type of leaded glass which was first created in the 1600's, but only in the 1700's did it achieve a level of perfection, and it was in the Georgian era that the most beautiful paste jewelry was created. Paste was popular in France and ...

This is an original 18th century Gouyn period porcelain Chelsea fob seal. These seals were given as love tokens by the wealthy and known as "toys". This particular seal features a nun with her gilded black cape holding a staff and reading from a book. The seal reads in red letters, "Amour Spirituel", ("Spiritual Love"). The black cape with gold edging is in particularly fine condition. Charles Gouyn, a French jeweler, with Nicholas Sprimont, a silversmith founded the Chelsea Factory in 1743...

This wonderful 18K Scottish fob features an imposing tower, the symbol for the Mason family crest. The fob is carved with a motto which reads "Demeure Par La Verite" and translates to "Keep Fast By the Truth". Keep fast by the truth is rooted in the bible: from the Gospel of John, it means remain faithful to the word of God and one will be rewarded with a fruitful life. Our fob is 1.5" tall and just shy of 1.5" wide. Family crest information sourced from Fairbanks' Guide (see photo of fortress d...

Georgian 18K gold cannetille work ring set with a carved turquoise in the shape of a pair of clasped hands, a symbol of friendship. On either side there are set an opal and a garnet. This is truly an unusual and rare ring. It is a size 7 and measures a bit over 1/4" at its widest.

This amethyst ring is a striking example of gold-work decoration that became popular in the second decade of the 19th century. A type of filigree work known as "cannetile" and named for the gold embroideries of the Napoleonic years, cannetile work made the most of a small amount of gold and required highly skilled goldsmiths. The amethyst stone is particularly eye-catching. The combination of the cannetile work next to the amethyst makes this an extraordinary ring. The ring is a US size 6.

Fabulous Georgian Pinchbeck muff chain with a hand clasp set with colored paste stones. Christopher Pinchbeck developed an alloy of copper and zinc in 1720 that had the look of real gold and did not tarnish. The jewelry made with this alloy survives today giving us the enjoyment of its beauty. A muff chain is a long chain worn around the neck fastened to ladies muffs. This chain measures 49" long by 1/4" wide.

Dainty Georgian pansy pin set with amethysts and citrines in 18K gold. Pansy pins were often given as a gift from a loved as the sound of the word pansy was similar to the French "pense", meaning "think, remember me". Time to continue the tradition.