Catalog: Estate Jewelry (1615)

An elegant pair of 18K yellow gold Art Nouveau cufflinks set with rose and single cut diamonds. The cufflinks have a classic design of whiplash curves typical of Art Nouveau jewelry. They are worked in both slightly matte bloomed and polished textures for added interest. The torpedo backs are connected by wired bridges. The cufflinks are stamped with French import marks, apparently those used for temporary admission into the country so they could be displayed at one of the international design salons around the turn of the 20th century.

• Origin: Continental Europe, ca 1900
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions, faces, 3/4" x 13/32”
• Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .66 carat
• Weight: 6.5 grams

An elegant Art Nouveau ring converted from an antique French 18K gold stickpin. The gold clover is decorated with small natural pearls on each leaf arranged around a small bright green emerald. The stem is worked in platinum and is set with a small mine-cut diamond for a little added sparkle. The 18K gold and platinum clover is attached to a 14K yellow gold band.
Finger Size: 6-1/2 (can easily be sized). Clover Dimensions: 1/2" x 1/2". Weight: 1.7 gr.

An elegant heavy gold bracelet comprised of linked chains decorated with three-leaf clovers. In Victorian flower symbology, clover leaves, regardless of their number signified good luck, but they also held the meaning “think of me.” Kauffer was the primary jeweler of the Ecole de Nancy, France’s most important group of Art Nouveau artisans. He exhibited at the Louvre during his lifetime. Unlike the more florid Art Nouveau designs by Parisian jewelers, Kauffer’s designs tended to be more linear and graphic. The bracelet’s clasp is stamped with the 18K gold marks used outside Paris until 1919, with Kauffer’s maker’s mark, and also with Kauffer’s signature.

• Origin: France, ca 1910
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 7-1/2” long.
• Weight: 32.7 grams.

14K gold ring featuring a detailed portrait of a Native American wearing a feathered headdress. The portrait is surrounded by a twisted rope border. Originally an Edwardian bar pin, the ring has been fashioned with the original pin's scrolled ends connecting to the medallion. The reverse is marked "585 Pr FSH" for 14K gold.

• Origin: Continental Europe, ca 1900.
• Dimensions: crown, 13/16" diamter.
• Finger Size: 6-1/2.
• Condition: excellent, sharp detail.
• Weight: 5.9 grams.

A very attractive pair of Victorian 10K yellow gold bean-back cufflinks, the faces collet-set with oval turquoise cabochons. The gold is enhanced with foliate engraving. The turquoise has a fine medium greenish-blue color with reddish-brown matrix. Marked “10K”.

Origin: America, ca. 1890. Condition: excellent, all original. Size: 11/16” x 9/16”. Weight: 4.3 grams.

A very handsome and heavy pair of double-sided 18K gold cufflinks, the oval faces decorated with stripes of engine-turned engraving and translucent royal blue guilloche enamel. The faces are joined by chains. Both the faces and the individual chain links are fully marked for Sheffield, 1905 and have an unidentified maker’s mark.

• Origin: Sheffield, England, 1905
• Condition: excellent, no enamel damage
• Dimensions; faces, 3/4” x 9/16”
• Weight: 11.0 grams

A beautiful 18K yellow gold locket in the Art Nouveau taste, the front cover depicting a water nymph, her streaming hair entwined with seaweed studded with small rose-cut diamonds. Her ear is adorned with an earring in the form of a coral branch. Her head appears just above delicately rippling waves that high the word “Eau” for water. This design was part of a four-part series designed by Bargas representing the four elements of earth, air, fire and water. They are sometimes seen as buttons, but very rarely worked in gold and used as a locket. Like many French lockets of the period, this example opens by swiveling sideways rather than being hinged. The interior retains its original fittings and glass cover. The back cover has the slightly matte finish typical of Art Nouveau jewels and has a period “ES” monogram. The bail is fully hallmarked with 18K gold marks and with the maker’s mark (partially obscured).

Origin: France, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent, sharp detail. Size: 1-1/8” x 1-3/8” excluding jumpring). Weight: 9.9 grams. Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .05 ct.

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 handsome pair of 14K gold bean-back cufflinks, the oval faces decorated with dogs, their tails straight and one paw lifted “pointing” in classic hunting pose. The gold surfaces have slightly matte finish. The backs are stamped with Carrington’s 14K mark.

• Origin: America, ca. 1900
• Condition: excellent, sharp detail, no dings
• Dimensions: faces, 13/16” x 9/16”
• Weight: 7.1 grams

A delightfully whimsical late Victorian 18K yellow gold stick pin depicting a circus elephant balancing atop a pearl ball. The elephant is very nicely detailed. The pin stem is stamped with French 18K gold marks and with an illegible maker's mark.

Origin: France, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent. Dimensions: head, 13/32" x 7/16". Weight: 2.9 gr.

A particularly lovely Art Nouveau enameled 14K gold flower pin in the form of an iris. The flower is enhanced with iridescent enamels in delicate shades of green, cream and purple. A 3-point old mine cut diamond is nestled in the center of the blossom. The flower petals are deeply ruffled and finely engraved for added texture. The back retains the original clasp, stamped with the mark for Whiteside & Blank, but the pinstem has been replaced.

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent; no enamel damage; replaced pinstem. Dimensions: 1-3/4 x 11/16". Weight: 5.7 gr.

A terrific pair of earrings in the form of round shakudo plaques set in 14K yellow gold borders. Each of the matching Meiji-period discs features a Japanese immortal or scholar along with a fearsome dragon. Details of the dragon’s scales and fins and the man’s staff are picked out in gold and copper highlights. The gold borders are simply decorated with a ropetwist motif. The earwires are later additions. Tested and guaranteed 14K gold.

Origin: Japan, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent. Size: 1-1/16” diameter; 1-1/2” from top of wire.

An extraordinary and rare 14K yellow gold bangle bracelet by Krementz adorned with enameled white and pale blue forget-me-nots. Krementz made some of the best Art Nouveau enameled jewelry, and continued producing enamels well into the 20th century. Blue and white forget-me-nots, a particularly popular motif in the early 1900s, frequently appeared in small pins and pendants. This piece, however, is the first bangle bracelet we've seen. Bangle bracelets are notoriously subject to damage and it is amazing that the enamel on this bracelet has survived in mint condition. The enameled flowers are accented with engraved foliage and a stippled background. The interior is hallmarked by Krementz and is marked "14K".

Origin: America, ca. 1905.

Condition: Enamel is mint, some scratches on the inside of the gold band.

Size: 1/4" wide; opening, 2-9/16" x 2-1/4"; interior circumference, 7-7/16".

Weight: 9.0 grams.

A lovely sentimental jewel by the esteemed London jeweler Murrle, Bennet & Co. featuring a heart-shaped citrine surmounted by a crown and a scrolling frame set with seed pearls. In Victorian symbology, a heart topped with a single crown conveyed the sentiment “ruler of my heart.” The citrine has very nice pure yellow coloring, with just a hint of orange. It would be very easy to add a small hidden ring at either end of the pin, so it can be worn from a chain. Murrle, Bennet & Co. was a leading jeweler, often collaborating with Liberty & Co. The pin is stamped “15Ct” and also has Murrle, Bennett’s hallmark.

• Origin: England, ca. 1900
• Condition: excellent, all original
• Dimensions: 1-3/8” x 7/8”
• Weight: 4.6 grams
• Approximate Gemstone Weight: 5.39 carats

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 wonderful pair of Art Nouveau 18K yellow gold cufflinks by Tiffany & Co. The faces feature finely detailed images of a bearded, horned devil with pointed ears and wild hair shown against a fiery background. The workmanship of the chasing and engraving is superb. Mythological subjects were especially popular during the Art Nouveau period, and certainly this devil's head could be seen as an extension of that popularity. The faces are attached to plain oval backs, which have never been engraved with a monogram. Each cufflink is signed with the Tiffany & Co. mark used around 1900 and is marked for 18K.

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Dimensions: 3/4 x 3/8". Weight: 10.4 grams.

A very fine 18K yellow gold fancy link chain necklace featuring round and teardrop links interspersed with smaller navette-shaped links. Each of the handmade fancy links is further enhanced with elegant beaded decoration. Necklaces in this style were a quintessentially French design near the end of the 19th century and they look especially elegant when layered with other chains. The length is sufficient to be worn doubled. Stamped with French 18K marks.

Origin: France, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent. Dimensions: 32" long. Weight: 46.3 gr.

A most unusual and attractive dress set comprising a pair of double-sided cufflinks and three shirt studs, the faces featuring bezel-set lapidary cabochon amethysts. The amethysts have good, even color and the faceting adds a bit of sparkle. Each piece is stamped "14K".

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent. Dimensions: cufflink faces, 7/16" diameter; stud faces, 5/16" diameter. Weight: 8.7 grams. Approximate Total Amethyst Weight: 23.58 carats.