Catalog: Estate Jewelry: Gold (1010)

A fine late Victorian 14K yellow gold animal pin in the form of an owl sitting on a branch. The details of the feathers and tree bark are beautifully rendered. The eyes are set with two small garnet cabochons. The back retains the original pinstem and clasp. The back is stamped "14K" and also has an unidentified maker's mark. This piece could be worn as a pin or suspended from a chain as a pendant.

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent; all original; sharp detail. Dimensions: 1-1/4" x 5/8". Weight: 7.1 gr.

A very nice late Victorian hinged bangle bracelet worked in a pierced scrolling design. The front features a row of three square cabochon rhodolite garnets set diagonally. The rhodolites have a lovely purplish hue that distinguishes them from their more common all reddish-brown garnet cousins. The bangle is fairly wide, but the piercing gives it an elegant lightness. The clasp is marked “14K.”

• Origin: America, ca. 1900
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 7/16” wide; inner circumference, 7-1/4”
• Approximate Total Rhodolite Garnet Weight: 3.3 carats
• Weight: 23.8 grams

A delightful enameled 18K gold love/friendship charm or pendant by Georg Adam Scheid, jeweler to the Imperial Hapsburg Court in Vienna. The rooster is carefully engraved into the gold surface and then filled with translucent enamels in shades of orange, green and yellow. The edge is enameled in black with the French phrase, "Quand ce coq chantera, mon amitié finira. (When this rooster crows, my friendship will end.)" Obviously, the gold and enamel rooster will never crow, so the friendship will never end! The pendant/charm is stamped with Scheid's hallmark, the city mark for Vienna and French import marks for 18K.

Georg Adam Scheid (sometimes listed as Georg Anton Scheid) was active 1882-1911. He was particularly noted for his enamel work and became a favored gold- and silversmith to the Imperial Family. Scheid's pieces in gold are far rarer that his silver items.

• Origin: Austria, ca 1900
• Condition: excellent; no enamel damage
• Dimensions: 9/16" (14 mm) diameter (excluding bail and jump ring)
• Weight: 2.0 grams

An elegant Art Nouveau 14K gold enameled flower pin with a full-blown blossom centering a seed pearl and a half-opened blossom. The petals are decorated in soft shades of ivory, green and rose iridescent translucent enamels. Delicate floral pins of this kind were popular gifts for new brides in the Victorian and Edwardian eras due to the sentimental meanings of various flowers in the Victorian flower language. The back is hallmarked by Whiteside & Blank.

• Origin: America, ca. 1900
• Condition: excellent; all original; no enamel damage
• Dimensions: 1-5/16" x 11/16"
• Weight: 3.4 grams.

A nice Victorian 14K yellow gold locket, the cover decorated with an ornately detailed lion’s head. The cat’s mane flares out from the face grasping a round cut diamond and ruby-set eyes. The interior of the locket retains its original frames and glass covers. The gold surfaces have the slightly matte finish popular at the end of the 19th century. Tested and guaranteed 14K.

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent, sharp detail, no monogram. Dimensions: 1-1/16” diameter. Weight: 7.9 gr. Diamond Weight: .05 ct.

A beautiful Art Nouveau 14K yellow gold locket, the front cover decorated with a maiden and songbirds. The woman has long, flowing hair in the typical Art Nouveau style, and wears a band of flowers at the top of her head. Groups of songbirds cluster on branches along the outer edges. The background is finely worked in a textured pattern. The interior retains both of its original frames. The back has a period three-letter monogram "GSB". Tested and guaranteed 14K.

• Origin: America, ca. 1900.
• Condition: excellent, sharp detail.
• Size: 15/16" diameter (excluding bail).
• Weight: 8.0 grams.

A very nice 14K yellow gold man's ring set with a rectangular carnelian plaque with canted corners. The gold surfaces are entirely covered with an hand-engraved foliate design. The gemstones in rings of this type were sometimes engraved with the owner's coat of arms, but this example has never been engraved. The stone's color and the overall impressive size of the ring make this a particularly nice example. The interior is marked 585.

Ca. 1900. Condition: excellent, sharp details. Dimensions: 3/4" wide at crown, tapering to 1/4" at the back of the shank. Finger Size: 9. Weight: 17.4 gr.

An elegant very early Edwardian 14K yellow gold ring of navette shape set with an interesting spotted or moss agate cabochon. The agate's body color is a translucent goldish-gray color with darker markings that resemble a tiger's stripes. The gold setting is delicately enhanced with bright-cut engraving. The very long navette shape is very flattering to the finger. The interior of the shank is stamped "14K".

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent. Ring Size: 8. Dimensions: crown 7/16" x 1-1/8". Weight: 5.2 gr.

A handsome Victorian gentleman's ring in a substantial 14K gold setting. The ring features a masculine brown smoky quartz with flashes of goldish-orange brilliance. The setting is enhanced with ornate strapwork against a stippled background. The setting holds the stone well above the finger and the overall look is very weighty. The interior of the shank is stamped "14k."

• Origin: America, ca. 1900.
• Condition: excellent; sharp detail.
• Finger Size: 10-1/4.
• Dimensions: 3/4" wide at crown, tapering to 3/16" wide at back of shank.
• Weight: 13.8 grams.
• Approximate Total Gemstone Weight: 9.44 carats.

A very fine 14K multicolored gold pendant/pin in the form of a ruffled pansy. Each of the petals is subtly sahded from rose gold at the edges through shades of yellow and finally, to a grayish gold (possibly platinum) where the petals join. The surface is finished with a lightly stippled texture. The center of the flower is set with a round blue sapphire and three of the petals are set with old mine cut diamond "dew drops". The diamonds are small, but are very good quality (F/VVS1) and sapphire has rich violetish-blue coloring. The reverse retains the original folding bail and pinstem/clasp, and is marked "Pat." Tested and guaranteed 14K.

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent, all original. Dimensions: 1" x 1-1/8". Weight: 6.2 grams. Approximate Total Diamond Weight: sapphire .39 carat; diamond, .08 carat.

An elegant pair of earrings featuring Type A (untreated) green jadeite beads and 14K yellow gold beads taken from an ornate antique Chinese necklace (ca. 1900) that was far too worn to salvage. The jadeite beads are semi-translucent, with even coloring and moderately-fine texture. The gold beads have applied vermicelli decoration. The earrings are finished with 14K yellow gold posts and clutches. Other elements taken from the same antique necklace can be seen in Items #1350538,

Origin: China, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent. Dimensions: beads, 6.2mm diameter; overall length, 1-3/16".

NOTE: Other pieces created from the original antique necklace include Items #1350538, #1344595, and 1350553.

A nice Victorian 18K gold locket, the front cover featuring a lioness shown in profile. She is enhanced with a bright emerald eye and grasps an old mine cut diamond in her mouth. The back is engraved with a period three-letter monogram. Tested and guaranteed 18K.

• Origin: America, ca 1900
• Dimensions: 1" diameter
• Condition: excellent; sharp detail on the lion; two pinpoint dings on the back cover
• Weight: 8.7 grams
• Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .05 carat

A delicate Edwardian 14K yellow gold bangle bracelet set with square cut amethysts and pearls. The gemstones are separated by openwork gold in an interlaced heart pattern that lends a very lacy quality The use of amethyst is somewhat uncommon in a bangle from this period. The interior bears the 14K gold mark for Alling & Co.

• Origin: America, ca. 1900
• Condition: excellent, all original, no dings
• Dimensions: 1/4" wide; 7” interior circumference
• Weight: 9.2 grams
• Approximate Amethyst Weight: 1.12 carats

A very nice Imperial Austrian 18K yellow gold brooch set with a reverse-carved Essex crystal depicting a pansy. Essex crystals with flower themes are very rare. In Victorian floriography, the pansy represented "think of me." The flower is beautifully colored. The crystal is set in a simple twisted rope frame. The back retains the original pinstem and clasp. These could easily be removed and replaced with a pendant bail. The clasp is stamped with Austrian hallmarks used toward the end of the Imperial era.

• Origin: Austria, ca 1900
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 7/8" diameter
• Weight: 4.5 grams

You know you'll live a life of good luck when you're wearing this 14K gold upturned horseshoe pendant necklace. The horseshoe is adorned with blue enameled forget-me-nots, flowers that conveyed exactly that meaning in the Victorian language of flowers. Originally a brooch, the horseshoe has been converted to a pendant with the addition of a delicate 14K gold split cable chain.

• Origin: America, ca. 1900.
• Condition: converted from a brooch; excellent enamel.
• Dimensions: pendant, 7/8" x 7/8"; overall necklace length, 16".
• Weight: 3.0 grams.

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.

Elegant Napoleon III 18K gold brooch in the Etruscan Revival taste. The pin is in bar form with pointed ends, interrupted in the middle by a round black onyx plaque centering a natural seed pearl. The domed setting around the onyx is set with six natural seed pearls. The pin on either side of the onyx plaque is decorated with an engraved Greek key design. The reverse is hallmarked with the "tete d'aigle" stamp for 18K gold and also with an unidentified jeweler's mark.

Origin: France, circa 1870. Condition: excellent; all original, including tube-hinged pinstem with trombone clasp. Size: 2-5/8" x 13/16" (widest). Weight: 6.5 grams.

A fine Victorian shell cameo pendant/pin depicting Diana, goddess of the hunt, the moon and nature (Artemis in Green mythology). The setting is beautifully worked in the Etruscan taste with delicately formed bead, wire and rosette decoration. The carving makes nice use of the shell's coloring to add details to the goddess' gown. She holds three of her attributes—a bow, a quiver of arrows and a crescent moon tiara. Diana/Artemis, being a virgin goddess, was regarded as the protector of women, especially during childbirth. The cameo is indistinctly signed by the artist. The back retains the original pinstem and pendant hook. The clasp is a slightly later replacement in 10K. The pinstem is stamped for 12K gold and the setting is tested and guaranteed 12K.

• England, circa 1865
• Excellent condition; clasp replaced; no cracks to shell
• 2-5/32" x 1-3/4"
• 14.25 grams