Catalog (2433)

An elegant Art Nouveau 18K gold, platinum and diamond pendant and brooch depicting a young woman with flowing flower-bedecked hair. She represents the Spring season, “Printemps.” Each of the flowers is centered a rose cut diamond and the maiden wears a necklace of rose cut diamonds, as well. The gold surface is bloomed for a slightly matte finish. The pendant/brooch is faintly heart-shaped and is finished along the edges with 54 rose cut diamonds set in platinum. The pinstem unscrews from the back, so the jewel can be worn as a pendant from the two pendant loops at the top corners. This design was commissioned in 1886 from the medallist Emile Séraphin Vernier by the esteemed house Fonsèque et Olive which was one of Paris’ most successful Art Nouveau jewelers.

• Origin: France, ca. 1890
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 1-1/16 x 1-1/8”
• Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .75 carat
• Weight: 8.9 grams

A fun piece of sporting jewelry depicting a crossed pair of croquet mallets and a coral ball inside the wicket. The banded agate stone is black with a single white line and has never been engraved. Croquet became fashionable among the English elite in 1856 when when the first book of croquet rules was published and the All England Croquet Club was formed at Wimbledon. The fob is stamped “10 ct.”

• Origin: England, ca. 1860
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 3/4” x 9/16” x 1-1/4 (excluding jump rings)
• Weight: 5.0 grams.

A pretty Victorian 14K gold locket, the cover featuring a lion rampant with a shield. The edges of the locket are worked in an ornate rococo design that is mirrored on the large suspension ring. The interior retains the original glass cover and frame insert. The back is engraved with a period “WWW” monogram. Tested and guaranteed 14K.

• Origin: America, ca. 1890
• Condition: excellent; sharp detail
• Dimensions: locket diameter 1”; overall length, 2”
• Weight: 10.7 grams

A wonderful early Victorian portrait locket worked in gilt silver and set with hundreds of Bohemian garnets, including a 10.2-carat rose cut oval at the center. The garnets are set with space between them to lighten the overall effect and better show the bright red coloring of the stones. The locket is suspended from a garnet-encrusted clover shaped bail. The back cover is entirely glass The gilding is intact.

• Origin: probably English, ca. 1845
• Condition: excellent, no missing stones
Dimensions: locket, 1-1/4” x 1-3/8”; overall length, 2-1/8”
• Weight: 14.4 grams

A fine Art Nouveau medallist stickpin depicting Demter (“Ceres”), goddess of the harvest and the seasons, in 14K gold by Louis Rault. She is shown in profile with several of her attributes including a tiara of wheat and a scythe. Louis Armand Rault was a leading designer for Boucheron 1868-75 and this is one of his signature designs. His designs were sometimes licensed to other jewelers, hence this American 14K version. The stickpin is finished in a soft bloomed texture. The pinstem is stamped iwth Carter, Gough's 14K mark. The stickpin could easily be converted to a ring or pendant.

• Origin: America, ca 1880
• Condition: excellent, sharp detail
• Dimensions: head, 9/16” diameter, length, 2-1/2”
• Weight: 2.0 grams

A nice extra-wide Victorian silver cuff bracelet engraved in an ornate Persian-inspired design. The bracelet is hinged, and the back side is unengraved. The width of the bracelet lends a very imposing look. Tested and guaranteed sterling silver.

• Origin: America, ca. 1875
• Condition: excellent, only two pinpoint dings on the back side
• Dimensions: 6-1/4” circumference, 1-7/16” wide
• Weight: 31.9 grams

A fine Victorian 14K gold and platinum locket ornately decorated in the Etruscan style with a lily pond scene. The scene includes rose gold cattails, green gold lily pads, and platinum lily blossoms. The remainder of the locket is enanced with ropetwists, wire work, and appliques. The locket opens at the back to reveal a photo compartment. The locket is completed iwth its original matching bail.

• Origin: America, ca. 1860
• Condition: excellent; a few minor pinpoints on the back cover
• Dimensions: 1-3/8" x 2-3/16" (including bail)
• Weight: 14.6 grams

An early Victorian 14K yellow gold locket enhanced with a pretty design of painted enamel roses and taille d'epargne tracery. The exposed gold surfaces are further decorated with engraving. The back cover has a style of engine-turned engraving usually found only in the late Georgian or very early Victorian periods. The interior retains both of the original glass covers and gold frames.

• Origin: America, ca. 1840
• Condition: excellent; no enamel damage; a pinpoint ding to the back cover
• Dimensions: 1-1/16" x 1-1/2" (excluding jump ring)
• Weight: 8.2 grams

A heavy pair of 14K gold cufflinks, the faces decorated with a sort of shield-shaped device against a stippled background. The influence of the Art Nouveau aesthetic can be seen in the assymetrical design of the shields. The semi-matte finish of the stippling contrasts nicely with the more polished shield. The backs marked "14K" and have Kirby's hallmark.

• Origin: America, ca. 1890
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 11/16" x 1/2"
• Weight: 9.8 grams

A beautiful pair of 14K yellow gold double curb link bracelets. The links are enhanced with ornate repousse decoration but could be worn inside out when a smoother look is called for. The clasp of each bracelet is stamped with Viennese 14K gold marks used 1872-1902. The bracelets are priced as a pair, but are available separately.

• Origin: Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1872-1902
• Condition: excellent, no dings
• Dimensions: 7-3/4” long; 1/2” wide
• Weight: 47.3 grams

A tour-de-force first standard (950/1000 pure silver) tastevin by silversmith Stanislas Pollet celebrating Napoleon’s great victory at the Battle of Wagram. The tastevin is inset with a Napoleonic silver medal surrounded by fleur-de-lis engraving. The outer edges are enhanced with ornate strapwork (a technique particularly mastered by Pollet) depicting fleur-de-lis and acanthus leaves. The entire design is set off with a pair of magnificently cast and engraved dolphins forming the handle.

Napoleon, never particularly known as a shrinking violet, enjoyed commissioning medals from the Paris Mint to celebrate his victories and various life landmarks. The front of the medal (showing from the top of the tastevin) depicts the river god of the Danube being forced by the Emperor to carry a wooden pontoon bridge laden with French cannons over the river towards the Imperial Austrian capital, Vienna. The Latin inscription translates as, “Danubius, indignant at the breach/Battle of Essling/May 22, 1809.” The reverse (showing from the bottom of the tastevin) depicts the French army marching across the bridge at Wagram, urged on by the goddess of Victory carrying a laurel wreath and pointing the way. The inscription translates as, “Again crossing at the same place/July 5, 1809.” The Battle of Essling was the first defeat of the French army under Napoleon’s direct control, but that fact is obscured by combining it with the Battle of Wagram, just forty-four days later. This latter battle was one of the emperor’s greatest victories and was the largest battle in European history up to that time. The medal was created at the Paris Mint by the medalist Nicolas-Guy-Antoine-Brenet under the supervision of Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, who was Napoleon’s artistic director and to whom the emperor entrusted the Louvre after turning it into a museum. A single copy of the medal was struck in gold for Napoleon’s personal collection. Silver medals were given as gifts to the emperor’s friends and diplomats and bronze versions were available to those of lower rank.

• Origin: France, 1899-1903
• Condition: excellent, sharp detail
• Dimensions: 3-1/2” x 4-5/8” x 1-1/4”
• Weight: 201.4 grams

A wonderful Victorian/Art Nouveau pendant and brooch in the form of a mythological griffin grasping a diamond in its jaws. The creature’s open-winged pose is somewhat unusual for this type of jewel, as they tend to be more curled up in a more circular position. The pose, however, makes for wear as a dramatic pendant hanging from the pendant loops on each wing. The back also has a removable fitting so it can also be worn as a brooch. And finally, there is a watch hook at the bottom that could suspend a watch or a dangling gemstone. The griffin is worked with in great detail and even the back is enhanced with engraved feathers and scales. The old mine cut diamond has good color and VS1 clarity. The pin stem is stamped with French 18K gold hallmarks.

• Origin: France, ca. 1890
• Dimensions: 2-3/4” x 1-3/8”
• Condition: excellent, sharp detail
• Weight: 18.1 grams
• Approximate Diamond Weight: .33 carat

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

A heavy French 18K gold and diamond pendant depicting a mythological griffin. The creature has the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. His open jaws clasp an old European cut diamond set in a milgrain platinum collet. The diamond is graded as I color, VS2 clarity. The griffin is surrounded by a circle of woody foliage. The back is engraved to match the texture of the front. The piece can be worn as a brooch or as a pendant suspended from the loops at the wing tips. The bottom has an additional loop that could be used to suspend an optional gemstone or pearl drop. The pendant is stamped with French 18K guarantee marks and a partial goldsmith’s mark.

• Origin: France, ca. 1890
• Condition: excellent, sharp detai
• Dimensions: 1-9/16” x 1-3/16”
• Weight: 12.6 grams
• Approximate Diamond Weight: .15 carat

A fine and ornate Victorian quadruple foxtail watch chain worked in 18K gold with rubies and bloodstone. Two slides, each with engraved floral decoration and set with cushion cut rubies, enhance the chain. The two slides are drawn close together so the chain plaits itself in the middle. One end of the chain terminates in a dog clip clasp. The other end terminated in a watch key and a fob seal decorated to match the slides. The fob seal is also set with rubies along the sides and ends in a bloodstone plaque (unengraved). The rubies have vivid color and show no indications of heat treatment. The chain, dog clip, key and fob are all marked individually with early 19th century French 18K gold marks. A chain this ornate would have been worn as a “gilletière” high on the vest so it would be readily visible to others. The chain would be lovely styled into a longer necklace with other chains.

• Origin: France, ca 1840
• Condition: excellent, all original
• Dimensions: overall length: 13-3/4”; fob, 1” x 3/4"; key, 2”
• Weight: 40.4 grams
• Approximate Total Ruby Weight: 1.44 carats

A stunning early Victorian snake necklace in 18K gold. The body is worked in a graduated series of scaled links terminating in an ornate emerald- and garnet-set head suspending an emerald-set foliate drop. The construction of the snake’s body is very flexible and feels silky like a true snake. The ornate head with repoussé and chased decoration is more fanciful and resembles a Chinese dragon. The eyes are set with bright garnet cabochons and the head features a row of collet-set emerald cut emeralds. The stones have fine bluish green coloring. The head suspends a drop in the form of leafy twigs set with additional emeralds. A box clasp is cleverly hidden in the head for a seamless appearance when being worn. Following Prince Albert’s proposal to Queen Victoria with a snake ring in 1839, a snake grasping its own tail came to represent the seamlessness or eternity of love and became wildly popular in jewelry. The necklace is presented in its original burgundy velvet, silk and leather fitted case. Tested and guaranteed 18K gold.

• Origin: England, ca 1840
• Condition: excellent, all original
• Dimensions: overall length, 19-1/4”; length when clasped, 16-1/2”; drop length, 1-1/4”
• Weight: 32.5 grams
• Approximate Total Emerald Weight: 3.77 carats

A heavy French 18K gold and diamond pendant depicting a mythological griffin. The creature has the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. His open jaws clasp an old mine cut diamond. The diamond is graded as G color, SI1 clarity. Griffins in brooches are often shown in a crouching position, but in this example, the creature is standing upright in a more assertive pose. The piece can be worn as a brooch or as a pendant suspended from the loops at the wing tips. The pendant is stamped with French 18K guarantee marks and with the master goldsmith’s mark “Vve G” for “widow Godivier.” In rare instances, more enterprising French women were able to successfully assume control of the family business after their husbands had died.

• Origin: France, ca. 1904-1911
• Condition: excellent, sharp detail
• Dimensions: 1-1/2” x 1-3/8”
• Weight: 15.1 grams
• Approximate Diamond Weight: .21 carat

A lovely early Art Nouveau 18K gold sliding locket by the acclaimed medallist Jean-Baptiste Emile Dropsy. The front cover shows a bare-shouldered woman wearing a diamond necklace and hair ornament feeding a diamond seed to a bird in mid-flight, all surrounded by a bough of chestnut leaves. The diamond accents (“habillé”) add a bit of sparkle to the design. The bird appears to be a dove, representative of “love” in Victorian symbology, while the chestnut leaves represent the sentiment “do me justice.” Taken together, the message means some along the lines of wishfulness for being treated well in love. Dropsy was an early Art Nouveau designer and his female designs tend to be a bit more teasing Gibson Girl than the more overtly sexy nudes that came along a decade or so later. The back cover is decorated with a curved spray of roses complete with thorns. Roses were also used to symbolize love, and when thorns are present, sometimes hinted that love is not without occasional pain. The interior of the locket retains its original frames and mirrored glass, which could be replaced with photos if desired. The locket is stamped with French 18K gold marks.

• Origin: France, ca 1895
• Condition: excellent, all original, a small ding on the back cover visible in strong raking light
• Dimensions: 1-1/8” x 1-1/8”
• Weight: 11.9 grams
• Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .06 carat