Kensington House Antiques and Sterling Silver Kensington House
Antiques
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Designer Signed : Pre 1980 item #1236332
Kensington House Antiques
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An elegant and exceptionally high quality pair of earclips in 18K yellow gold set with diamonds and sapphires by A Péry et Cie. The earrings feature fields of pave-set round brilliant diamonds bisected by bands of rectangular cut blue sapphires. The diamonds are E color and VS2 clarity; the sapphires are medium-dark strong blue (B6/5) color and eye-clean clarity. Each earring is fully stamped with French 18K gold marks and is signed by A. Péry et Cie. The clips have holes, so posts could be added without disrupting the integrity of the earrings.

Péry worked as manufacturer for Van Cleef & Arpels, but also worked for Boivin, Mellerio and other important French jewelers. Péry was responsible for some of VCA most iconic 20th century designs including the Ludo bracelet and the zipper necklace. The Péry ateliers are now owned by VCA.

Origin: France, ca. 1980. Condition: excellent, all original. Dimensions: 14 x 24 mm (9/16 x 15/16 in). Weight: 17.4 gr. Approximate Total Gemstone Weight: diamond, 1.5 ct; sapphire, 3.25 ct.

All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Victorian : Pre 1900 item #1330764
Kensington House Antiques
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A fine Victorian 18K yellow gold fancy link long chain necklace. The chain comprises alternating large and small oval links, each inset with an ornate scrolling pattern with millgrained accents. The design is reminiscent of the stone tracery separating the panels in a Gothic stained glass window. Necklaces of this style are distinctly French and were popular throughout the Second Empire and into the Belle Epoque. The necklace is stamped with French 18K marks and an illegible goldsmith’s mark.

Origin: France, ca. 1880. Condition: excellent. Dimensions: 29-1/4" long. Weight: 27.1 gr.

All Items : Estate Jewelry : Cufflinks and Accessories : Gold : Pre 1980 item #1352138
Kensington House Antiques
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A classic, heavy pair of 18K yellow gold cufflinks by David Webb. The front faces are rectangular with canted corners highlighted with opaque blue and white enamel. The smaller back faces are hinged and have solid blue enamel. The connectors are marked "Webb 18K".

Origin: America, ca. 1970. Condition: excellent, no enamel loss; extremely minor abrasions to the gold edge of one cufflink from normal wear. Dimensions: larger faces, 3/4" x 19/32"; smaller faces, 1/2" x 3/8". Weight: 20.1 gr.

All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Designer Signed : Pre 1980 item #1368825
Kensington House Antiques
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A handsome 18K yellow gold ring by Cartier in the "Lanières" design, set with diamonds and rubies. The wide gold band is decorated in an engraved checkerboard pattern, with certain squares filled in with either a brilliant round cut diamond or a round cut ruby. The ring is set with stones on only one side, so it can be turned around and worn as an handsomely geometric wide gold band. The ring can be worn by either a man or woman. The diamonds are graded as F color, SI1 clarity; the rubies are of equally fine quality with good color saturation and minimal inclusions. The inside of the ring is signed “Cartier”, marked “750” for 18K, marked “54” for the European size (the ring actually measures a 55), and has the serial number “949696”.

Origin: France, ca. 1970s. Finger Size: 54/55 (European), 7-1/8 (American). Band Width: 1/2”. Approximate Total Gemstone Weight: diamond, .20 carat; ruby, .32 carat. Weight: 15.7 grams.

All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Designer Signed : Pre 1980 item #1373497
Kensington House Antiques
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An 18K yellow gold and diamond necklace for the French luxury jeweler Fred of Paris. The design features a series of bar-shaped chain links interrupted by stations collet-set with round brilliant diamonds of G color and VVS2 clarity. The necklace is 16" long and is designed to curve gently around the lower neck. This length is very versatile for either evening or day wear. The necklace is signed "Fred" and is fully hallmarked with French 18K marks.

Fred Samuelson established his Paris boutique in 1936, and quickly became a favored jeweler to Marlene Dietrich and many other luminaries of the time. Today, there are a few boutiques worldwide, but Fred is still considered an understated luxury of quintessentially Parisian style.

  • France, circa 1980
  • 16" long; 3/16" wide
  • 27.3 grams
  • 1.1 carats approximate total diamond weight

All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Designer Signed : Pre 1980 item #1139217
Kensington House Antiques
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A beautiful 18K white gold start pendant set with diamonds and sapphires from Chanel’s haute joaillerie “Comete” collection. Coco Chanel’s first jewelry designs were based on celestial themes and when the house re-entered the luxury jewelry business they reinvented many of her early designs. This star pendant features four round brilliant diamonds and three blue sapphires in different fancy cuts—square, marquise and pear. The diamonds are G color with VS1 clarity. The sapphires are B5/5 color and eye-clean clarity. The different shapes and apparently random arrangement of the gemstones was intended to mimic the placement of stars in the galaxies. The back of the pendant is signed “Chanel”, has the serial number “7E1232” and has appropriate 18K gold hallmarks. The chain clasp is also signed and marked. The original retail price of this pendant was $5,100.

Origin: France, ca. 2000. Condition: excellent. Size: pendant, 5/8” x 3/4"; chain, 16” long. Weight: 9.0 grams. Approximate Total Gemstone Weight: diamond, .25 ct; sapphire, .25 ct.

All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Designer Signed : Pre 1970 item #1379845
Kensington House Antiques
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A very attractive 18K yellow gold ring set with an amethyst by the famed mid-century Brazilian designer Haroldo Burle Marx. Burle Marx is well-known for his free form designs, but his collaborations with his brother, the landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, had a much more linear, abstract feel as in this piece. The amethyst at the center is of the very finest quality, with intensely purple color and excellent clarity. The gold is completed with the finely worked florentined finish typical of Burle Marx's work. The interior of the shank is fully signed.

Burle Marx worked in his native Brazil, and his only international boutique was at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC. He was chosen by the Brazilian government to create state gifts for Queen Elizabeth, Empress Nagako of Japan, Empress Farah Diba of Iran, Queen Margarethe of Denmark, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India, and many others. In Hollywood circles, he was a favored jeweler to Merle Oberon and Natalie Wood.
  • Brazil, ca 1970
  • Excellent condition
  • 1-1/16" wide at crown, tapering to 3/16" at the back of the shank
  • Finger Size: 5-3/4
  • 17.0 grams
  • Approximate Gemstone Weight: 3.08 carats
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Victorian : Pre 1900 item #1212663
Kensington House Antiques
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An exceptional pair of Victorian carved ivory and 9K yellow gold earrings. The earrings are fashioned as exquisitely detailed cherubs, each suspending three elongated drops. The drops are arranged in the typical girandole style with the central piece hanging lower than the outer elements. The cherubs are fully three-dimensional and the feathered carving on the backs is as fine as that on the front. The ivory has a very nice patina. The style and exceptional quality of carving indicates the ivories were likely carved in Italy, whereas the use of 9K gold suggests they were mounted as jewelry in England. Queen Victoria’s fourth daughter can be seen wearing an ivory cherub brooch quite similar to these in one of her portraits. The girandole style emerged in French jewelry in the early 1700s and remained popular throughout the century. The ornate style returned to popularity during the Rococo Revival around 1870. The wires are stamped with French import marks for 9K. Victorian ivory earrings of this quality are quite uncommon, and we were fortunate to acquire two exceptional pairs from the same source.

Origin: Italy/England, ca. 1870. Condition: excellent, all original, no cracking. Size: length from top of wire, 2-3/4”; length from top of cherub, 2-1/8”; width, 1-1/16”.

NOTE: This item cannot be shipped outside the United States or to California.

All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Art Nouveau : Pre 1920 item #1314130
Kensington House Antiques
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A fine Art Nouveau 14K yellow gold bracelet designed as a chain of daisies. Each flower is centered by a mine cut diamond. Each plaque is pierced to delineate individual flower petals and the back of each plqaue is engraved in a matching pattern. The reverse engraving is a technique sometimes seen on very high-end French jewels of the period, but rarely on American pieces. The diamonds have bright color (G/H) and SI1 to I1 clarity. The back of the clasp is engraved with the date March 3, 1910.

Origin: America, 1910. Condition: excellent, sharp detail. Dimensions: 3/8" wide: 7-7/8" long. Weight: 19.8 grams. Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .50 ct.

All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Period : Pre 1970 item #1320698
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An elegant modernist long chain necklace worked in 18K yellow gold and featuring black onyx and green nephrite jade beads. The onyx beads are carved in a melon motif, while the jade beads are left smooth. The jade has even, lightly-mottled color and good translucency. At 33”, the necklace is long enough to be worn at full length or doubled. The combination of strong colors with the yellow gold is very chic. The clasp is marked by an unidentified maker “Ste F”.

Origin: France, ca. 1965-70. Condition: excellent, all original. Dimensions: onyx beads, 11.7mm diameter; nephrite beads, 8.1mm; overall length 33-1/4”. Weight: 43.6 gr.

All Items : Estate Jewelry : Cufflinks and Accessories : Gold : Pre 1980 item #1357734
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An elegant pair of 18K yellow gold knot-style cufflinks set with blue sapphires by Boucheron. The four-lobed faces are formed by a rope-motif tied in an ornate knot. Each lobe features a bright blue round sapphire. The sapphires have eye-clean clarity and medium blue color. The faces are joined by solid connectors to toggle backs decorated in a complementary twisted rope design. Each cufflink is signed "Boucheron Paris" and has appropriate serial numbers, 18K marks and the master goldsmith's mark.

Origin: France, ca. 1980. Condition: excellent. Dimensions: 5/8" x 5/8". Approximate Total Gemstone Weight: sapphire, 1.17 cts. Weight: 14.1 gr.

All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Victorian : Pre 1900 item #1472507
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A very fine and moving 18K gold and enamel locket in loving memory of Francis Mary, Viscountess Forbes who died on Christmas Day, 1877. She married the Viscount Forbes, 26 years her senior when she was just 21 years old. She was predeceased by her husband, and though she never became a Countess, their son inherited the title Earl of Granard. The locket was likely made for her granddaughter-in-law, Beatrice Mills Forbes, an American heiress who was Viscountess Forbes at the time of Francis Mary’s death. Lady Forbes led a rather fascinating life, as Queen Victoria’s confidante and one of her longest-serving Women of the Bedchamber (1837-1874). Even in her later years, she remained an Extra Woman and was called to Court for special occasions.

The front of the locket is beautifully worked with a black enameled cypher surmounted by an Earl’s coronet against a bloomed gold finish. The back is similarly decorated with an engraved cypher and coronet. The interior features an area for a portrait on one side, and a glass compartment enclosing a twisted lock of Francis Mary’s hair on the other. The frame surrounding the hair is engraved “Francis Mary Viscountess Forbes/Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth/b. 21st Oct. 1811/d. Christmas day 1877.”
  • Origin: England, 1877
  • Condition: excellent, no enamel damage, dings, etc.
  • Dimensions: 1-3/8” x 1-5/8” (2-1/4” with bail)
  • Weight: 26.2 grams.
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Period : Pre 1492 item #1481513
Kensington House Antiques
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A classic coin pendant in a simple 18K gold frame, but featuring a spectacularly rare and beautiful “Franc a cheval” coin from the reign of Jean II “le Bon” (“the Good.”) The coin was minted in Paris for just a little more than three years, December 1360-April 64. The front of the coin depicts the king charging on horseback, wearing full armor and a fleur-de-lis crown and with his broadsword raised. The horse, too, is decked out in armor decorated with fleurs-de-lis. The image is surrounded by a Latin inscription translated as “Jean, by grace of God, King of the Franks.” The obverse features a cross surrounded by fleurs-de-lis, in turn surrounded by the Latin motto, “Christ vanquishes, Christ reigns, Christ commands.” The coin is 24K gold and is mounted in a non-invasive 18K frame. The frame probably dates to the mid-20th century and bears French 18K gold hallmarks. The pendant came from the family that owned the Medieval and Renaissance French coin bracelet in our collection.

Jean ascended to the throne in 1350 at a time when France was suffering from the Black Death and was thirteen years into the Hundred Years’ War with England. He was captured by the Black Prince at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 and taken to the Tower of London. A treaty with King Edward III promised Jean his freedom if he could pay a ransom equal to three times France’s entire annual revenue. He was granted freedom in exchange for offering his son as a captive while he returned to France to raise the ransom. On December 5, 1360, he issued an order to create an entirely new gold coin to be used for the ransom. The word “franc” meant “freedom,” and thereafter French currency has always been known as the franc. Jean’s son escaped captivity in England in 1363, but in chivalric gesture, the King volunteered to take his place, saying “If good faith were banned from the Earth, it ought to find asylum in the hearts of kings.” He returned to England, where he died the following year.
  • Origin: France, 1350-54
  • Condition: excellent, sharp detail
  • Dimensions: 1-1/4” diameter (excluding bail and jump ring)
  • Weight: 8.2 grams
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Victorian : Pre 1910 item #1482019
Kensington House Antiques
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A lovely 18K gold bracelet in the Louis XVI style, the links fashioned as floral and foliate wreaths alternately centered with old European cut diamonds and round cut rubies. The pierced design lends a light appearance despite the bracelet’s substantial weight. The clasp is stamped with French 18K gold marks.
  • Origin: France, ca. 1900
  • Condition: excellent, all original
  • Dimensions: 7/16” wide; 7-1/2” long
  • Weight: 29.1 grams
  • Approximate Total Gemstone Weight: diamond, .24 carat; ruby, .44 carat
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Period : Pre 1980 item #1333263
Kensington House Antiques
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A 14K white gold pendant featuring a prong-set 1.04 carat diamond (H/I1). The diamond has very good cut and brilliance. The pendant is accompanied by an 18-3/4" white gold chain.
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Cufflinks and Accessories : Gold : Pre 1960 item #1345673
Kensington House Antiques
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An extremely rare pair of 18K yellow gold and citrine cufflinks by the mid-century Brazilian jewelry designers Roberto and Haroldo Burle Marx. The Burle Marx brothers were particularly know for their use of colored gemstones fashioned in the "forma livre" (free-form) style. Haroldo invented the technique of carving and tumbling forma livre stones in 1948, and the style of the swivel mechanism suggests that the cufflinks are relatively early—probably around 1955. The gold sunburst setting of these cufflinks shows the design hand of Haroldo's older brother, Roberto. The citrines have a deep honey color accented beautiful by the shades created from the carving. The backs are fully marked with Burle Marx's hallmark and marks for 18K.

Marx worked in his native Brazil, and his only international boutique was at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC. He was chosen by the Brazilian government to create gifts for visiting heads of state and their wives, including Empress Nagako of Japan, Empress Farah Diba of Iran, Queen Margarethe of Denmark and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India. In Hollywood circles, he was a favored jeweler of Merle Oberon and Natalie Wood.

Origin: Brazil, ca. 1955. Condition: excellent. Dimensions: faces, 7/8" diameter. Weight: 12.8 gr. Estimated Gemstone Weight: 5.8 cts.

All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Pre Victorian : Pre 1837 VR item #1361352
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A stunning Georgian 18K gold textured chain necklace suspending a graduated series of nineteen carved hardstone hearts. The colorful stones include lapis lazuli, moonstone, opal, carnelian, moss agate, porphyry, chrysoprase, banded agate, jasper and more. Stones such as these would have been mined in many different parts of the globe, and wearing a necklace of such "specimens" would have indicated wealth as well as a certain curiosity and intelligence about the world. The heart theme expressed the sentimental side of Georgian jewelry. The chain is entirely handmade and is fastened with the original barrel clasp decorated with beading in the Etruscan manner. Tested and guaranteed 18K.

Origin: France or England, ca. 1800. Condition: very good, several of the hearts have minor roughnesses to the edges consistent with two centuries of wear. Length: 16-3/4". Weight: 19.0 gr.

All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Edwardian : Pre 1910 item #1385241
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A classic sporting bracelet featuring three reverse-carved Essex crystals depicting a fox and a pair of horses. The gold mountings are formed from snaffle bits, horseshoes, riding crops, saddle belts and stirrups. The Essex crystals are expertly carved and painted with fine depth. The reverse is stamped with 14K marks and the maker’s mark for Carter, Gough & Co.
  • America, ca. 1900.
  • Excellent condition; no water damage or scratches.
  • Dimensions: 7 1/2” long; 15/16” maximum width.
  • Weight: 26.9 grams.