Catalog: Antiques: Decorative Art: Jewelry (233)

Jewelers produced tie pins in the 19th century to meet the increasing demand for novelty jewelry. The spiral ridge near the top of the pin helps to hold the item of clothing, whether it be a tie or a scarf, securely in place. The increasingly liberated and activism of women toward the later half of the 19th century gave rise to a new class of sporting jewelry. Many an equestrienne was wearing horseshoe pins to the lapel of her riding clothes by the 1880's...

Fun and unusual earrings of Whitby jet with a jet ball hanging below carved Whitby jet florets. Whitby Jet is fossilized coal mined in Whitby, England in the 19th century and made into jet jewelry, used at the time for to create jewelry. It was truly a cottage industry, with men extracting the jet from the mines and turning the precious material over to woodworkers, who hand turned and carved the jet into smooth forms...

9K Turquoise and pearl pendant with integrated matching turquoise studded large bale and original crystal on a 9K gold back. The turquoise stones and natural pearls have managed to avoid the fate of so much Victorian jewelry, stone discoloration. The pairing of the two types of stones is typical of mid Victorian sentimental jewelry...

C1890 60 inch long original full length French watch chain features lovely handcrafted filigree elements with its traditional links and filigree circles within the links. The chain can be worn doubled or tripled and with a pendant attached. An 18K French chain is a must for every woman's jewelry wardrobe! The hallmarks consist of a French eagle head (18K), bigorne marks, and a goldsmith's mark. The hallmarks are located on the ring that attaches to the clasp. The chain weighs 50 grams.

Striking Victorian Whitby jet earrings with a floral design. Jet jewelry became popular after the death of Prince Albert in 1861 when the court went into official mourning. These striking earrings measure 2 1/2" long and 3/4" at their widest.

Beautifully miniature hand painted rectangular signet ring of the tree of life. The tree of life has its origins in both Judaism and Christianity, it is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and symbolizes connection to the larger world, the earth and the sky. This ring is 17x 11.4mm and sits about 3.6 mm off the finger. It is 5/8 long and almost ½ inch wide. The size is 6.25 US. The Weight is 3.0 Grams.

Elegant Georgian pinchbeck Pendeloque earrings with decorative floral accents along the bottom widest part and an attractive carved flower at the ear. The bottom of the earrings are finished with a hand wrought gold ball. Pinchbeck is an alloy developed by Christopher Pinchbeck in 1720 to simulate gold. His alloy of copper and zinc looks like gold and does not tarnish...

Beautiful White and Yellow Gold Circle Drop Earrings C. 1900. We love these charming 15K diamond and yellow and white gold earrings. Old mine cut diamonds wrapped inside a gold cylinder dance inside a concentric gold circle and shimmer in the light. Two smaller mine cuts encased in a gold cylinder are at the top. Mille-graining, which is a minuscule bead that finishes an edge on gold or silver in jewelry, can be seen along bordering the gold cylinders, a nice detail...

This is an original nineteenth century sterling watch chain with a round interlocking link. Close-up photos reveal the interlocking nature of the links. A great deal of ingenuity went into making chains, and there is nothing like an original long Victorian watch chain that retains its original length...

Charming 15K Victorian gypsy ring with an old mine cut diamond securely imbedded in a polished gold band. The ring is hallmarked HM Chester 1890. This type of setting was popular through the late 19th century and well into the 20th. The diamond is securely flush mounted into the band. Flush mounted rings, otherwise known as gypsy rings, can be worn for everyday wear. The ring is great for stacking or worn alone, and with its hallmark and polished gold band is a fine ring indeed...

Our glass earrings, in the form of a Latin crosses, are made of Vauxhall glass, popular as jewelry in the 1860's and sold along the pleasure Gardens in Chelsea, where courting couples strolled on summer evenings. Made by skilled artisans who were employed by the Vauxhall Glass Company in an effort to make use of the leftover glass shards from the mirror glass they produced, the jewelry was much loved for the skillful carving of the glass into unique and creative forms...

C1860 sterling silver pendeloque earrings, over three inches long, make a statement no matter the occasion. The silver earrings have a thin fluted silver band wrapped round and round culminating in a small finial at the bottom. The thin silver fluted band is repeated on the top of the earring in 3 offset curves. These earrings are surprisingly light. The butterfly backs help the earrings fit securely on the ear (hopefully) never to be lost!

Sterling silver ring with a horse shoe motif as its central feature, set in sterling silver, complete with hallmark and maker's mark S & G. Silver jewelry was popularized in the last quarter of the 19th century because of the discovery of the Comstock Lode in Nevada in the 1860's, which had the effect of greatly increasing the world supply of silver. The band integrates with the central horseshoe and that is how we know it was originally and cleverly designed to be a horse shoe ring...

Wonderful antique silver cuff with rose gold flowers and arches and yellow leaves with etched tendrils in between. Silver jewelry was made to appeal to the "everyman" in society and after the Silver Jubilee in the later part of the 1800's silver jewelry pieces like our cuff bracelet was made in abundance, but no two pieces were alike and each had its own unique design. This antique cuff bracelet is 7 ½ inches in circumference and is 1 inches wide. It fits a small to medium sized wrist.

Lovely 18K stone coral ring with 8 small diamonds. Five stone rings were classic Victorian forms. Our ring has smooth polished cabachon coral stones and ten small perfect flat cut diamonds at each corner. During Victorian times and earlier, coral was believed to have mystical properties and to ward off illness. The rose pink color was the most sought after. The ring is a size 8 and can be sized.

Wonderfully painted enamel ring depicting the love between Cupid and Psyche, the universal symbol of everlasting love. The ancient Greeks viewed the butterfly as a symbol of the immortality of the soul. The painting on the enamel ring shows the goddess Psyche, which means "soul" or "spirit", in the form of the butterfly, being chased by Cupid. The ring is 18K, circa 1910, size 6.5 and can be sized.

Classic Victorian era pleasing large size round monogramed signet ring with an old english monogram carved in a carnelian hard stone with carved scrolls set into the 15K band. The ring is shown with an assortment of other signet rings in a similar shape. We think it looks terrific with others, or alone. The ring is .6 of an inch wide and .5 inches tall (15 mm wide and 12+ mm tall) and is a US size 10 and size-able.

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.

Lovely Georgian garnet cluster ring set in 18K gold. The garnets are a bright and lively color giving the ring great panache. The ring is a size 8 and measures 5/8" at its widest.

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...

Early Victorian or late Georgian half hoop 7 stone ring with 7 well matched turquoise stones set in cabochon, with the largest turquoise in the center and each stone graduated in size, as is typical of a hand carved Georgian ring. The borders of each stone are crimped, an attractive detail. The shoulders of the ring are chased in a lovely hand carved pattern. The back of the stones reveal lovely hand carved gold work. The ring can be sized up or down within reason.

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...

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.

Our muff chain is known as "pinchbeck" and has a wonderful hand clasp with a diminutive emerald paste ring on the hand and a charming carved ruffled sleeve at the end of the hand clasp. We love “jewelry wearing jewelry” and the hand clasp with its fingernails and green paste ring can only be described as quintessentially Georgian. The links of the chain are embossed with textural dots. While our Georgian pinchbeck long chain was used in its day to hold one's muff, today one wears it for ...

With a Latin inscription translated as "Under a clear sky France suffers", this 18K Carnelian fob seal depicts an African slave in profile, carved atop a family crest, all shown above a ribbon banner reading "PURUM PATIENTIA FRANCE". Notwithstanding the word "France" in the inscription, our wax seal fob is English. The seal harkens back to the British abolitionist movement in France, during which time the British people actively sought to pressure the French to abolish slavery. This fob seal sho...

A lovely pair of white paste earrings closed back set in silver gilt. Approximately 18 MM or .7 inches in width, these well scaled earrings can be dressed up or down. Made of "paste", a special glass and lead formula originating from George Ravenscroft, a London glassmaker, during the 17th century and perfected by a French jeweler Georges Strass in the 18th century. Each "paste" was handcarved to fit the setting. Paste has become very collectible and desirable and can no longer be made today. T...

Dramatic Georgian faceted paste single stone ring set in silver and backed in 18K. The ring is nicely engraved at the shoulders with an 18K band. The carved paste is set in silver, which was believed to be better suited to set off the cool tones of the "diamond" stone. Paste jewelry refers to meticulously hand carved gem-like stones whose origin is credited to 2 infamous Georges, the first being George Ravenscroft, an English glassmaker who in the 16th century invented a composition of lead...

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.

Dramatic metal Georgian cuff bracelet of rolled gold with slots to adjust the sizing. With its fancy hand worked decorative baroque design bolted to the bracelet, this stylish cuff makes a substantial impact. Leave it to the Georgians to design well made and practical jewelry that can be adjusted to fit different wrist sizes. As added feature, it easily slips on the wrist and firmly closed into a slot with one hand. Well constructed and fashionable cuff to add to your collection.

Amazing "Queen Anne" amethyst paste earrings set in gilt metal. This style of jewelry has been historically misnamed for Queen Anne, who reigned from 1695 to 1714, as so called Queen Anne jewelry dates to the mid 18th century. The vivid purple paste stones used are faceted as rose cuts. The earrings have back to front fittings and fit close to the earlobe. There is a matching necklace sold separately.

Utilizing the natural features of the blush and gray speckled agate with a lovely mottled appearance and demonstrating the fine carving that this circle of Italian carvers were known for, our ring is a sensitive portrayal of Sappho, an early poetess who came of age in the time of the Ancient Greeks in the Archaic period. The quality of the carving is reminiscent of the circle of carvers in Rome during the mid eighteenth century which included Anton Pichler and his sons Giovanni and Luigi. K...

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.

Dramatic 18K gold marquis shaped ring in royal blue and white enameling surrounded by pearls and centered with a pearl pansy. This distinctly English style of enameling on jewelry was invented in 1775 and became popular with royalty and is often seen on jewelry displaying royal crowns.

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 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 ...

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. With its braided hair compartment intact, hand blocked engraving and chased borders, this ...