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Wonderful jewelry, occasionally in precious metals, but more often not--the workmanship is the thing! You'll also find natural materials like amber, coral, jet,and mother-of-pearl in this section. |
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AGATE JEWELRY
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VICT012
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The Victorians called these 'Scots Pebbles', and the original fad for them was English; Queen Victoria summered in Scotland, where she wore kilts (of a sort) and local jewelry to support indiginous industry and crafts. But they were, I suspect, made and worn everywhere. This lovely agate brooch measures 1.5" by .75", is in its original rose gold fill bezel, but has had a safety clasp added. Minor wear on the gold fill, otherwise perfect. ca. 1860s.
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VICT013
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Another Mid-Victorian agate brooch, this one a beautiful cabachon full of transluscent clouds of white and cream with one patch of caramel brown. A fascinating stone, which is why it was polished and set. It's roughly 1.5" by and inch and set in a stepped rose gold fill bezel. Very minor wear to the gold, it's all original with its C-clasp.
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VICT014
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Large scale agate brooch, ca 1860. This one a flat opaque cabachon in greens, grays, tans, and rust. This one is 2" long and is set in its rose gold fill bezel. It is all original with its C-clasp and long pin. Just wonderful.
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ART NOUVEAU
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VICT003
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I can't stress how RARE these little Art Nouveau pins are!!! This was a very shortlived style and very seldom executed in gold (the Nouveau artisans preferred silver). This one, a simple flower with a natural ruby center, in the characteristic whiplash frame, is ARTIST-SIGNED. It's yellow gold with a 'bloomed' finish--probably 14K but not marked. It's about an inch square.
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BROOCHES
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VICT002
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A wonderful little high-domed sunburst pin, in rose gold with seedpearls. The diameter is just 7/8", and it is marked 14K on the reverse. It has its original C-clasp and pin and is in PRISTINE original condition.
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VICT005
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A FABULOUS Mid-Victorian miniature of a gypsy youth. Handpainted on porcelain by a master and set in gold. Tiny earrings, wisps of hair and a glorious face! It measures 1 1/2" by 1 1/8. The painting is unsigned; the porcelain blank appears to be marked '33'. The painting has some tiny scratches and one tiny ding (all visible with a loupe ONLY). The original C-clasp HAS BEEN REPLACED by a safety sometime in antiquity-this was commonly done by an inheritor who did not know how to secure the Victorian clasp. Unfortunately in the process, a couple of drops of solder made their way onto the frame--no biggee, but they are there. Again, loupe-visible. Ordinarily, I do not buy anything but flawless jewelry--but this is SUCH A TREASURE that I made an exception, and I urge you to do so too. You will not be disappointed...this is simply EXQUISITE!
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CAMEOS
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vict016
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Fabulous Victorian cameo brooch, handcarved angelskin coral in a karat gold repousse frame. Nicely carved goddess Diana in the palest pink coral. The frame is repousse with a solid back as shown in scan, and a 'bloomed' finish in yellow which is wearing to rosy gold underneath (minor wear on highlights). Cameo itself is an inch tall, overall dimensions are 1.75" x 1.25". All original with C-clasp and long pin. Near-mint condition.
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vict017
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Small coral cameo handcarved in HIGH RELIEF. Profile of the goddess Diana with the crescent moon in her hair. Carved from angelskin coral, so white and creamy that it resembles ivory. The handcut and engraved rose gold frame is marked 10K and has its original early safety clasp. Overall height of cameo and frame is one inch.
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vict018
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Another HIGH-RELIEF cameo, this one carved in shell. Interesting use of the colored layers of the shell in the design. In a hand-cut and engraved frame and bezel made for the piece. It retains its early safety clasp and the swivel bail and O-ring to use it as a pendant on a chain or ribbon. An ADDITIONAL interesting feature: a dedication engraved on the back when the piece was presented to its second owner.... (a daughter? bride?): "M.Y. 1-14-'20". This piece measures 1.5" by 1", and is marked 10K. Ca. 1890.
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vict019
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A rare 'frameless' cameo, so-called because it is set in a sort of easel of gold that holds the cameo without surrounding it. Just four little squares of gold set with half pearls are seen from the front. The cameo iself is a lovely profile bust carved from white to pink coral. It does have a NON-original safety clasp. The gold is unmarked. Overall dimensions are 1.5" by more than 1". A very ELEGANT cameo.
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vict020
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Wow--a LEFT-FACING cameo! Handcarved from shell with a fairly high dome, this one has a little more modern look. Hard to date because she's so traditional, but I think she's 20th century rather than 19th. She's set in gold fill or silver gilt. Classic braided wire frame with a stationary pendant ring in back. MINT condition.
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VICT021
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One of the nicest shell cameo necklaces I've owned in 30 years! This is a pin/pendant; it can slip off its chain and be worn as a brooch. Great high-Victorian carving of the goddess Diana on brown helmet shell. I love the way they incorporated the natural coloring into her hair. The setting is rose gold. The undulating 'swoops' on the front are TWO COLORS--pink on the sections with seed pearls, and the textured sections between are washed with GREEN gold for extra delineation. The brooch measures 1.75" by 1.5" and is in perfect original condition with its original C-clasp and pin. It is marked 10K, and on its original? gold chain, which is 19" long. This is one GORGEOUS piece of classic Victorian jewelry.
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VICT022
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The most UNUSUAL cameo currently in the collection, this early lady modestly carries her gold in BACK! This is a Georgian (pre-Victorian) carving of Flora, the patron of Gardening, hence the stylized flowers in her hair. She is deliberately carved in a 'flat' manner to better emulate a Roman cameo. (Victorian cameos exist BECAUSE of the fad for collecting the "REAL", i.e. ROMAN & GREEK cameos--a rich man's hobby which also produced WEDGEWOOD! Antique cameos sold for the equivalent of millions!) This is a rare 'frameless' cameo with a heavy gold back bracket, original pin and C-clasp. It measures 2" by 1.75". Ca. 1830.
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GARNETS
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VICT006
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This ring is simply MONUMENTAL--it fits from knuckle to knuckle and is much wider than the finger. The top measures 1 3/4 inches by 1 1/8; the central cabachon is over 3/4 of an inch long! It's surrounded by three rows of rosecut garnets; the ring rises a full half-inch off the finger. These are the finest old deep rich red Bohemian garnets, full of fire. This is currently a size 7 (but can easily be resized by your jeweler) and is in PERFECT CONDITION. The scan does not begin to do this ring justice--IT IS STUNNING!!!
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VICT009
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Classic Mid-Victorian Bohemian garnet brooch in low karat rose gold. Three star-shaped rosettes of rosecut garnets surround a central stone. About 1.75" in diameter and in PRISTINE original condition other than that it's had a safety-catch added. They did a FLAWLESS job!
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