Catalog: Estate Jewelry (1615)

A rare 18K yellow gold love token medallion by the Lyonnais jeweler best known for his “Plus qu’hier, moins que demain” médailles d’amour. This medal, depicts a crowing rooster standing on land gazing out over the sea toward the rising sun while diamond-set stars are still in the sky. The text “Ni vous sans moi, ni moi sans vous” means “Neither you without me, nor me without you” and is taken from a telling of the legend of Tristan and Iseulde by the 12th century lyric poet Marie de France written while she was at the English court of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Augis created this design at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. The rooster is a traditional symbol of the French republic, so the medal held a double meaning of patriotism (in the sense of “Neither France without you, nor you without France”) and inseparable love as soldiers went to war. Certainly, one can imagine a young soldier presenting this medal to his wife or girlfriend.

The pendant is signed “A Augis” and is stamped with his master goldsmith’s mark.

Origin: France, ca. 1914. Condition: excellent, sharp detail, never monogrammed. Dimensions: 13/16” diameter (excluding bail). Diamond Weight: 025 ct. Weight: 6.2 gr.

A 14K white gold ring set with a .77-carat round brilliant-cut diamond (I color, SI2 clarity, VG cut) surrounded by a horseshoe motif set with .25 carats of rose cut diamonds over a pierced gallery. Tested and guaranteed 14K.

Origin: America, ca. 1940. Finger Size: 5-3/4. Dimensions: crown, 1/2" x 5/8". Weight: 4.2 grams. Approximate Total Diamond Weight: featured stone, .77 ct; mine cuts, .25 ct.

An interesting and massive pair of 22K yellow gold cufflinks, each formed as a square plaque comprising four large curb links arranged around a central bead. The backs are attached to heavy chains to baton backs. Each cufflink is stamped with unidentified hallmarks. Tested and guaranteed 22K. Ca. 1950. Condition: excellent, one baton back has been replaced. Size: 1” x 1”. Weight: 18.8 grams.

A lovely late Victorian 18K gold locket enhanced with ornate pierced arabesques and pearl-studded laurel wreaths. The pearls have particularly nice color and luster. The cover opens to reveal a glass-enclosed compartment for a portrait or other keepsake. A small piece of cloth soaked in perfume could have been added behind the pierced cover to provide a bit of relief from the smelly Parisian streets of the 1800s. The original bail is also set with seed pearls. Stamped with French 18K gold marks.

• Origin: France, ca. 1880
• Condition: excellent; a small ding on the back cover (more visible from the inside of the locket than the outside
• Dimensions: 1-1/16” x 2” (2-3/8” including the bail)
• Weight: 15.2 grams

A handsome pair of cufflinks, worked in 19K yellow gold and featuring oval carved bloodstones enhanced with gold bead centers. The bloodstone has a nice deep green color with minute flecks of red. The gold setting behind the bloodstone is formed as a decorative floral design. The torpedo backs are connected by chains. The backs are stamped with Portuguese hallmarks for 19.2K gold.

Origin: Portugal, ca. 1985. Condition: mint. Size: 9/16” x 7/16”. Weight: 6.0 grams.

A fine 19K yellow gold folding ball locket with a capacity for four images. The exterior is decorated with a stippled checkerboard pattern with a belt on either side that holds the sphere closed. When the belts are unlatched, the locket opens accordian-style to reveal the inner frames. These lockets have become increasingly difficult to find. The locket is stamped with Portuguese hallmarks for .800 (19.2K) gold.

• Origin: Porto, Portugal, ca. 1938.
• Condition: excellent.
• Dimensions: 13/16" diameter.
• Weight: 16.5 grams.

A lovely older Cartier 18K yellow and white gold ring set with a .347-carat round brilliant diamond. The design, a wide tapered band, combines the two colors of gold in a very nice geometric design that perfectly complements the single diamond collet-set in the middle. The diamond is of fine quality, estimated at G color, VS clarity. The ring has a substantial appearance and could be worn by either a woman or man (though the size is a bit on the small side). The interior of the shank is signed “Cartier”, is dated “1989” and has a serial number.

Weight: 11.1 grams. Approximate Diamond Weight: .347 carat. Finger Size: 5-1/4. Size: 9/16” wide, tapering to 7/32”.

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.

A classic late 1960s 14K gold and diamond cocktail ring in a "snowflake" design. The seventeen diamonds are set in white gold to highlight their color. The diamonds are graded as J/I1. The openness of the setting gives the ring a delicate appearance. The yellow gold shank is stamped "14K".

Origin: America, ca. 1968. Condition: excellent. Dimensions: crown, 5/8" diameter. Finger Size: 9. Weight: 5.7 gr. Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .50 ct.

A magnificent pair of Retro leaf-shaped earrings and a matching brooch by Cartier. The leaves are worked in 18K yellow gold and are exquisitely detailed with delicate veining against a softly bloomed matte finish. The stems are worked in palladium, a metal from the platinum group that was used during World War II when platinum was banned from use in jewelry. The stems are bead-set with round single- and brilliant-cut diamonds. The diamonds are very good quality, as expected in vintage Cartier. The brooch has a hinged double pinstem and small safety hooks. The earrings retain their original clip backs with the hinged comfort tabs. The brooch is signed "Cartier" and is marked "18K". The earrings are signed "Cartier", are marked "18K" and "Pal" and have the design serial numbers.

Origin: French design (probably retailed in NY), ca. 1940. Condition: excellent, all original, sharp detail. Size: brooch, 1-29/32" x 1-3/4"; earrings, 1-1/16" x 25/32". Weight: brooch, 21.1 grams; earrings, 10.9 grams. Approximate Total Diamond Weight: 1.0 ct.

A rare World War II era 14K yellow gold tie bar in the form of an airplane propeller. This motif would have been considered a patriotic statement in gentleman’s jewelry at the time. The back is marked “14K” and has the hallmark for Richardson Manufacturing Company, a Newark jeweler.

Origin: America, ca. 1940. Condition: excellent. Size: 2-9/16” x 7/16”. Weight: 6.4 grams.

NOTE: We are also offering a matching pair of cufflinks.

A rare pair of World War II era 14K yellow gold double-sided figural cufflinks, the faces in the form of airplane propellers. The front faces have three blades, while the back faces have two. Cufflinks with an airplane theme would have been considered a patriotic statement in gentleman’s jewelry at the time. The connectors are marked “14K” and have the hallmark for Richardson Manufacturing Company, a Newark jeweler.

Origin: America, ca. 1940. Condition: excellent. Size: front faces, 3/4" diameter. Weight: 4.7 grams.

NOTE: We are also offering a matching tie bar.

A fine pair of Victorian 18K yellow gold tassel earrings. The foxtail chains are suspended from bell-shaped surmounts with bands of engraved decoration and applied flowers worked in rose and green gold. Each foxtail chain ends in a small gold sphere. The earrings have an elegant look, without being too heavy for comfortable wear. The surmounts are marked with French “tete d’aigle” hallmarks for 18K gold.

Origin: France, ca. 1860. Condition: excellent, wires are replacements. Size: 1-3/8” long. Weight: 5.5 grams.

A handsome pair of double-sided 18K yellow gold cufflinks, the round faces featuring an ornate pattern of woven gold “threads”. The faces are joined by chains. Each cufflink is fully hallmarked with French 18K gold marks and with an unidentified maker’s mark.

Origin: France, ca. 1980. Condition: excellent. Size: 17/32” diameter. Weight: 9.0 grams.

A handsome pair of cufflinks and three matching shirt studs in 18K yellow gold set with blue sapphires. The faces are fashioned as knots, the individual gold “threads” textured in a rope-twist motif for added interest. Each knot is centered with a brilliant round-cut blue sapphire. The sapphires have nice color saturation, and the gold is quite heavy. Each cufflink is marked “18K”. The faces of the shirt studs are also 18K, but the spring mechanism on the back is 14K.

Origin: America, ca. 1980. Condition: excellent, all original. Size: cufflink large faces, 5/8” diameter; 7/16” diameter. Weight: 27.0 grams. Approximate Total Gemstone Weight: .82 carat.

A nice pair of vintage 18K yellow gold cufflinks in the flip-up stirrup style popularized by Cartier in the late 1940s. The circular ends are enhanced with engraved decoration. One end of each cufflink folds for ease in putting them through a cuffhole. The ends of the connectors are set with cabochon rubies. Tested and guaranteed 18K gold.

• Origin: probably American, ca. 1950
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: faces, 5/8" diameter
• Weight: 13.2 grams
• Approximate Total Gemstone Weight: .6 carat.

A fine, heavy pair of 18K yellow gold cufflinks, the faces set with round brilliant-cut rhodolite garnets. The gemstones have very good color with a strong purplish-red component that is accented nicely with the gold setting. The faces are connected with solid arched bridges to flat oval backs. The bridges are marked “18K” and one is signed “A Shoon” (?).

Origin: America, ca. 1990. Condition: excellent. Size: faces, 7/16” diameter. Weight: 15.1 grams.

A nice pair of 18K yellow gold dumbbell cufflinks, each of the faces in the form of a knot. The solid connectors are arch to fit the cuff correctly. Marked “18K” and with the hallmark of an unidentified maker.

Origin: America, ca. 1990. Condition: excellent. Dimensions: faces, 13mm diameter. Weight: 7.1 gr.