Catalog: Estate Jewelry: Gold: Victorian (276)

This exquisite French Victorian pendant/brooch features a fine onyx cameo depicting a fairy-winged woodland nymph, her translucent gown pulled aside to expose her breasts, dancing and tossing boughs of flowers. The cameo is surrounded by an ornate shield-shaped border of rose-cut diamonds and a single natural pearl set in silver over 18K gold. The diamonds are of very good quality with excellent brilliance and clarity. The bale can be detached for wear as a brooch, or the pinstem and clasp can be removed for wear as a pendant. There was once also a removable drop element—probably a pear-shaped pearl at the bottom. The jewel is stamped with French gold and silver marks and an illegible master goldsmith's mark.

Nymphs protected the natural environment in the specific areas where they lived such as rivers, woodlands, lakes, mountains and meadows. They often hung around with fun-loving full-fledged immortals such as Dionysos and Artemis. The beauty and allure of Greek nymphs was such that they could seduce Gods and mortals at will, often becoming mothers to great heroes such as Achilles. They were said to cause "nympholepsy" that incapacitated men with passionate frenzies, especially around noontime.

• Origin: France, ca. 1860.
• Condition: excellent; all original; pearl drop element lacking.
• Dimensions: 1-9/16" x 1-15/16" (2-9/16" with bail).
• Weight: 23.4 grams.
• Approximate Total Diamond Weight: 2.03 carats.

A beautiful Second Empire 18K yellow gold locket, the front decorated with an enamel portrait of a society lady in a brightly-colored formal dress. Her ornate hairdo is studded with an ostrich plume, blue forget-me-nots, lace and small rose-cut diamonds. Interestingly, she wears a locket in the portrait, as well as a gold bracelet and a shoulder brooch. The portrait is enclosed in a frame of opaque black enamel that accents the punch-work decoration around the image. The original bail is similarly decorated. The interior retains the original frames, glass covers and French blue silk linings. The back is simply engraved with a shield reserve (never monogrammed). Stamped with French hallmarks.

• Origin: France, ca. 1860.
• Condition: no enamel damage; three dings on the reverse.
• Dimensions: 1-1/4' x 2-1/8" (including bail).
• Weight: 20.3 grams.

A lovely late Victorian 18K gold locket, the front and back covers worked in a stippled texture with engine-turned engraving along the borders. The front is further enhanced with a spray of vivid blue forget-me-nots and green foliage. In Victorian flower language, forget-me-nots symbolized true love or the desire to be remembered—either one a very fitting sentiment for a locket. The back cover has a monogram reserve that was never engraved. The interior retains the original frames and glass on both sides. The bail is stamped with French 18K gold marks.

• Origin: France, ca. 1890
• Condition: excellent, enamel intact
• Dimensions: 7/8” x 1-1/4” (excluding bail)
• Weight: 6.4 grams

Wonderful French 18K gold stickpin in the form of a dragon. The detail is incredible. Raised up on his hind legs, with his wings unfurled, the dragon is exhaling tongues of flame. His tail is curled around several times before circling completely around the body to form the circular outline of the stickpin's head. The texture of the feathery wings and scaly body is superb. The back is marked with French hallmarks for 18K gold and an unidentified maker's mark.

Origin: France, ca. 1860. Condition: excellent, all original. Size: head, 9/16" diameter; overall length, 3-1/16". Weight: 3.5 grams.

An elegant Victorian 18K gold pendant featuring an onyx plaque centered with a seed pearl. The gold setting is ornately worked in a rope twist motif and with bright-cut engraving. Three tiny seed pearls complete the design. The pendant is stamped with French 18K gold marks.

• Origin: France, ca. 1870
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 1-7/32” x 5/8”
• Weight: 3.0 grams

A very fine 19th century French 18K gold locket, the cover in a very three-dimensional design of overlapping geometric shaped enhanced with calibre-cut Persian turquoise, seed pearls and rose cut diamonds. The turquoise are all original, and a few are have taken on the darker greenish cast often found in Victorian-era turquoise. Additional scrollwork, beading and engraving completes the design. The original bail is set with pearls. The back cover opens to reveal a glass-enclosed compartment. The locket is stamped with French 18K marks and an unidentified goldsmith’s mark.

• Origin: France, ca. 1850
• Condition: excellent, a few small dings to the back cover
• Dimensions: 1-1/4” x 1-15/16” (2-5/16” including bail)
• Weight: 20.6 grams
• Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .05 carat

A lovely pair of French Victorian 18K gold earrings set with sapphires and rose cut diamonds. Each earring features a prong-set blue sapphire surrounded by a cluster of ten rose cut diamonds, bead-set in an engraved background. The backs are finished with a hand-pierced gallery. The sapphires and diamonds have particularly good color and clarity for the period. This style of earrings was popular in the 1850's when popular hairstyles that covered the ears rendered large earrings irrelevant. Smaller earrings, "dormeuses" ("sleepers") were worn to keep the piercings open while awaiting the inevitable return of grander styles. Stamped with French 18K marks.

• Origin: France, ca. 1855.
• Condition: very good, all original, a minor repair to one earwire.
• Dimensions: 3/8" x 9/16" (from top of earwire).
• Weight: 2.4 grams.
• Approximate Total Gemstone Weight: sapphire, .38 carat; diamond, .10 carat.

An elegant pair of long 18K gold earrings enhanced with floral shaded enamel plaques. The gold surfaces are intricately engraved to add a bit of sparkle. The earrings have nice movement when being worn. Each is stamped with French 18K marks.

• Origin: France, ca 1840
• Dimensions: 2-9/16" long from top of earwire
• Condition: excellent, no enamel damage, replaced earwires
• Weight: 8.3 grams

A three-color faceted overlay glass locket in a rolled gold mounting. The glass is cut to show the layers of red, white and blue opaque glass. The back cover is ruby glass dark enough to appear opaque black unless held to the light.

Origin: France, ca. 1875

Condition: excellent, no chips or cracks

Dimensions: 1" x 13/16"

A fine green-toned cat's eye chrysoberyl cabochon surrounded by delicate scalloped border set with seed pearls centers this Victorian stickpin conversion ring. The stone displays excellent chatoyancy, with a clear milky white streak down the center of the stone that seems to "wink" as it is rocked from side to side. The surrounding pearls pick up the creamy color of the eye. The setting is 18K gold attached to a 14K shank.

• Origin: France, ca 1890.
• Condition: converted to a ring; no chips or scratches to stone.
• Dimensions: crown, 15/32" x 5/16".
• Finger Size: 6 1/4.
• Weight: 1.6 grams.
• Approximate Gemstone Weight: 1.24 carat.

A very heavy 18K yellow gold bracelet worked in the form of interlaced knots, the center of each set with an old mine cut diamond. The diamonds are set in silver in the traditional manner of the 19th century. The stones have good J/K color and SI1 clarity. At 8-1/4" long the bracelet is very generously sized. The box clasp is marked "Waler 18K".

Origin: America, ca. 1890. Condition: excellent. Weight: 41.0 grams. Approximate Total Diamond Weight: 1.0 ct.

A fine handmade Victorian 18K yellow gold necklace with an extraordinary length of 46 inches. Alternating links are decorated with a twisted rope motif. The necklace is has a spring ring clasp at one end and a tension pendant clasp at the other, so it can be worn full-length or doubled, with or without an pendant. Wound six times, it can be worn as a bracelet, as well. Marked “18” for 18K.

Origin: America, ca. 1895. Condition: excellent, all original. Length: 46”. Weight: 47.4 gr.

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

A very fine Imperial Austro-Hungarian bangle bracelet simply designed as an oval of twisted gold, but then set at the top with a trefoil of three cornflower blue sapphires surrounded by rose cut diamonds. The sapphires, .72, .58, and .52 carat, have microscopic stringer, sharp-edge milky bands, and snowflake inclusions typical of sapphires mined in Kashmir in the 1880s. The sapphires have excellent saturation, medium-dark tone, pure blue color without violet overtones, and a characteristic velvety appearance. The sapphires are surrounded and centered with eleven small rose cut diamonds. The bracelet is stamped with the Vienna hallmark used 1872-1922. The removable safety chain makes the bangle easy to take on and off.

• Origin: Vienna, Austria-Hungary, ca 1885
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 1/8” wide at back; 5/8” wide at front; interior circumference, 6-1/2
• Approximate Total Gemstone Weight: sapphire, 1.83 carats; diamond, .10 carat
• Weight: 14.9 grams

A very heavy late Victorian 14K rose gold watch chain completed with a matching t-bar. The curb link chain is completed with a t-bar, a dog clip, and a 1-1/2” length of chain to suspend a fob. The chain is stamped repeatedly with the Imperial Russian mark for 56 zolotnik gold (a tad purer than 14K) used 1898-1908.

• Origin: Russia, 1898-1908
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 12-3/8” long (dog clip to t-bar); 1-1/2” long (suspension bail to fob bail)
• Weight: 50.2 grams

An extremely rare and very fine Imperial Russian gold and diamond anchor brooch by Viktor (Victor) Aarne. The anchor is surmounted with the Imperial Russian crown and the cypher of Czar Nicholas II is superimposed over the stem of the anchor. The brooch is set throughout with old mine and rose cut diamonds. The diamonds are set in silver over gold, as was typical of Russian jewels of the period. The quality of piercing and millgraining indicate hand fabrication. Certain portions of the design, notably the crossbar of the anchor, the horizontal element of the cyrillic letter "N" and the numerals representing "II" are worked only in yellow gold as a contrast to the surrounding surfaces. THe principal diamonds average J color and SI1 clarity. A jewel of this quality, bearing the Imperial cypher, would certainly have been given as a gift by the Imperial family. The pinstem is marked for 56 zlotniks (14K) and bears the workmaster's mark used by Johann Viktor ( Johan Victor) Aarne during his St. Petersburg period, 1891-1904.

Origin: Russia, 1891-1904. Dimensions: 52 x 27 mm (2-1/16" x 1-1/16"). Approximate Total Diamond Weight: 1.84 cts.

This classic late Victorian bangle bracelet is set with a row of gorgeous opal cabochons in graduated sizes enhanced with old European cut and single cut diamonds. The opals have superb play of color evenly spread across the stones’ surfaces. Primary colors are blues and greens with shots of orange and red. The interior of the bracelet has a jeweler’s inventory number, but no maker’s mark. It is presented in a fitted box that appears to be original. The interior of the box bears the name Wm Mossman, Jeweller & Goldsmith, 135 Princes St (Edinburgh, Scotland). The clasp is stamped with French import marks. Tested and guaranteed 15K.

• Origin: Scotland, ca. 1900
• Condition: mint
• Dimensions: 7/16” wide at front; 6-1/8” circumference
• Weight: 17.3 grams
• Approximate Total Gemstone Weight: opal, 7.36 carats; diamond, .37 carat

A very pretty pair of Shakudo earrings in the form of partially folded fans. The dark metal surfaces are delicately enhanced with silver cranes amid gold plum blossoms, rocks and tree stumps. The crane was used in Japanese art to symbolize longevity. The fans are suspended from 18K rose gold wires. After the collapse of the feudal system in Japan, the artists who created elaborately decorated swords turned to jewelry as a way to express their creativity. Sometimes shakudo pieces were turned into jewelry with the addition of later mountings, but in this case the earring fittings appear to be original. It is also rather unusual for shakudo jewelry to have gold findings rather than silver.

Origin: Japan, ca. 1890. Condition: excellent, all original. Size: maximum width 11/16”; 1-11/16” long to top of earwire.