Catalog: Antiques: Decorative Art (314)

This pattern on our watch chain comes from an ancient technique of decorating silver, known as niello. Niello which was revived in the 19th century and adopted by English jewelry artisans. The word niello which derives from the Latin form of niger, or black...

Our substantial 18K Victorian buckle ring is hallmarked London for the year 1894 has two star set cushion cut diamonds set securely flush with the band. The clean and simple design of the ring makes it wearable for hand washing and most daily activities. Buckle rings were popular in the Victorian era. As it was the Queen's order, Victoria wore the symbol of the garter in the form of a buckle bracelet or buckle ring on her arm, as she obviously could not show the garter on her leg...

Our Victorian silver arrow brooch is handcrafted with a high degree of skill insuring the stone is perfectly and painstakingly carved to fit its mount. The warm colors of the Scottish agate and the matte finish all combine to make this a wonderful brooch. The arrow was an important Victorian motif representing protection from danger; thus the arrow symbolized maintaining and protecting life...

Fantastic Whitby jet earrings in the form of concentric circles, a classic geometric shape that we love. The material is made of Whitby Jet, a form of fossilized coal that came from the coal mines of Whitby England in the 18th and 19th centuries. Jet was especially popular during Victorian times because it was acceptable as a form of mourning jewelry...

Our C1780 muff chain has an unusual link in the shape of bows. These hand forged bow links continue all around the chain. Georgian muff chains were worn by women who would attach a muff to the chain to conveniently keep their hands warm and the chain was designed to allow the muff to fall at just the right place. This is why original muff chains were always long (shorter chains were generally part of a larger muff chain that has been cut down to make 2 or 3 necklaces)...

Lightweight, hand forged 72 inch long 15k belcher long guard chain which can be doubled or tripled or quadrupled as a necklace. The belcher link is sometimes called a box link chain and is an interlocking square open link that remains popular to this day. Note that this is an original Victorian chain that has remained intact through the years and not chopped up into shorter chains. It has a threaded dog clip that is easily unscrewed to attach a pendant or two of your choice...

This is a good example of the remarkable talent behind the wonderful Austrian Bronze handmade, hand painted bronze miniature figurines which were made around the turn of the 20th century in foundries in Austria and Vienna. Austrian bronzes are individually cast from sand molds used only once, then sculpted and cold painted by hand with several coats of a special and secretive type of enamel paint, resulting in very detailed and life like miniature figures...

Classical Victorian hallmarked bangle bracelet with three rows of tiny fleurons and X shaped patterns running horizontally across the bangle with reeding in between. Our bracelet is hallmarked 1883 Birmingham and is in pristine condition. It is approximately 1/8 inch deep, 1 inch wide, and measures a fairly ample 7 3/4 inch in diameter, suitable for most any size wrist.

Our marquis shaped 18K ring, carved in the shape of the pointed oval and emblematic of the gothic arch, has twelve old-cut rubies and a central cabochon opal accented with rose diamonds. The ring is a "marquis within a marquis" in the way the rubies form the outside border of another border of gold trim, which forms a marquis shape that encloses the cabochon opal and accent diamonds...

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...

Wonderful tactile slinky watch chain. To be a proper watch chain, the chain must be over 50" long, as they were originally made (shorter chains are simply cut up watch chains). Snake chains are a favorite link because of the slinky smooth texture and the way the link bounces back when adjusted...

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.

We love baby rings, worn around the knuckle or worn clipped to a large split ring and worn around a chain, or simply collected in honor of a new baby. Our Victorian baby ring has rose diamonds encased in gold, spaced evenly around the band. The band has a royal blue enamel border on both top and bottom of the band. The blue enamel is itself accented by a slender border of gold. The combination of the rose diamonds set in gold with the enamel blue detail make this an exceptional baby ring. The o...

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.

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.

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