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Lovely Vintage Enameled Silver Swans Ring
Catalogue:
Archives:
Estate Jewelry:
Silver:
Period:
Pre 1970 item# 1161534
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
505.205.1404
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In a season when rings with animal motifs are the trendiest bling around, what fun to find that design in a historic jewel that will hold its value beyond the present and gain value as time goes on!
This ring with its pair of graceful swans is an enchanter, built up in shades of blue enamel with silver wirework on a domed band. We know it's from a Pennsylvania estate, but chronologically, it's one of those marvelous mysteries we run across now and then.
Whereas the design first suggests the late 1960s aesthetic -- hippie neo-Romanticism to the max -- the hallmark introduces a big question mark. The ring isn't stamped "925" (as was typical after the mid-1930s) or "Sterling" (as was seen earlier). Instead, it simply reads "Silver" -- suggesting not only a somewhat less than sterling grade but an early dating. Thus, the ring may be decades older than it seems. It isn't unlike some pieces produced in the early 30s, when Disney-esque figural jewelry was popular -- and it could be even older, an Arts & Crafts piece.
Certainly it has some age -- however much -- but most importantly it's absolutely stunning and, being adjustable, it can be worn by anyone on nearly any finger. Condition is great, with only a couple of little enamel flaws that appear to be original, not damage.
There's no charge for U.S. shipping (with an equivalent discount on international delivery) and gift-wrap is always free when desired. Please e-mail to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking!
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Rare Antique Sterling Silver Suffragette Bar Brooch
Catalogue:
Archives:
Estate Jewelry:
Silver:
Victorian:
Pre 1910 item# 1109825
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
505.205.1404
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Very finely crafted with ornate ends and edges, this antique bar pin is of sterling silver (unmarked but tested), set with sparkling amethyst, peridot and diamond pastes. That it's sterling is quite remarkable for a Suffragette item; typically these are either totally costume or top end, made of gold and gems.
Complementing the beautiful metalwork, the stones here are excellent pretenders, especially the 16 fancy-cut amethysts channel-set in groups of four. Every stone appears original. Another nod to unusual quality is the early safety lever fitted on the C clasp. This is a type that dates from the 19th century, as is the hinge with its slight sideways wobble. The pinstem, originally elongated, was snipped to a less hazardous length at some time, as is common with brooches this old. Either Late Victorian or Edwardian, it reached us from a Florida estate. Likeliest dating would be 1900-1910.
Please e-mail to confirm availability, order or request more photos. There's no charge for insured U.S. Priority shipping, with an equivalent discount on international delivery. Gift-wrap is always free when desired. Thanks for looking!
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Spectacular Antique Art Nouveau Silver Ring c 1900
Catalogue:
Archives:
Estate Jewelry:
Silver:
Art Nouveau:
Pre 1910 item# 1037939
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
505.205.1404
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Stunningly sculptural, this wonderful ring combines the flowing curves and organic floral forms of Art Nouveau with a hint of Arts & Crafts influence, evident in the simplicity of its layered openwork construction. It's fascinating when those design currents intersect, as they sometimes did around a hundred years ago.
The ring's face measures a knuckle-covering inch in each direction, so this is a jewel that can't possibly be overlooked. Its material is obviously silver, rich with time's patina. That the metal is unmarked suggests American origin, since silver hallmarks weren't required here until shortly before World War I. If you prefer a brighter finish, I hope you'll just polish the high points with a jeweler's cloth and leave the patinated depths dark for drama. Condition is superb, provenance is a Texas estate and current size is about a US 5.5. It appears to have been resized once before, so can easily be altered again at the same junction.
There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping (with an equivalent discount for international delivery) and gift-wrap is always free on request. Please e-mail to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking!
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2 Long Vintage Silver Chains with Faux Pearl Accents
Catalogue:
Archives:
Estate Jewelry:
Silver:
Period:
Pre 1970 item# 1008526
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
505.205.1404
Sold; thank you!
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I give up -- these necklaces are impossible to photograph! As you may be able to tell from my pitiful best efforts, the chains are very long, slender and supple, interspersed with beaded sections featuring faux pearls (33 total) and small silvery spacers. The longest chain measures 30.5 inches and its companion nestles just inside that length, at 29 inches. The necklaces have clasps, but you won't need them, since they'll slip easily over your head. Besides offering that convenience, they drape beautifully and will go with anything.
They're marked only with the word "Korea" -- no reference to North or South -- so they could date from before the partition. Asian jewelry is outside my specialization, so I don't know the hallmarking conventions in that part of the world. There's no indication of metal content, either, but so much tarnish was on these that I gave them a light polish and they responded like silver. At the very least, they're silver-plated -- and we've priced them as such, not as sterling. Price-wise, we're also assuming 1960s for dating, although they may have been made in the 1940s or even earlier. Their provenance is a New England estate.
Again, my apologies for these pathetic images. If you'd like to see the pictures in a larger version, please e-mail. Thanks for looking!
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Wide Modernist Hammered Sterling Ring, His or Hers
Catalogue:
Archives:
Estate Jewelry:
Silver:
Modernism:
Pre 1980 item# 1007703
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
505.205.1404
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An elegant ring for any man or woman who enjoys bold scale and deft hand-craftsmanship, this vintage silver band measures a knuckle-covering 3/4" tall at the front, tapering to 3/8" at the back for comfort. Its hammered surface flashes light, as do the finely detailed herringbone edges.
Most likely dating from the late 1960s or early 1970s, when masculine jewelry came to the fore in a big way, the ring reached us from a Pennsylvania estate and is about a US size 8.5 (we say "about" due to variations in ring sizing equipment). It could be slightly stretched by a good jeweler, but shouldn't really be cut down, because the intricate edge pattern would be interrupted. With apologies to the purists among us, we couldn't resist giving the ring a light polish, because so much age patina had accumulated that it was difficult to appreciate the details.
The band is hallmarked 925 for sterling, but has no maker stamp -- which may well mean the design wasn't mass-produced. It does have a "custom" look and the quality of fabrication is exceptional.
There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping, with an equivalent discount for international delivery. Please e-mail to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking!
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Rare Victorian Double Cherub Pin with 3-Chain Swag
Catalogue:
Archives:
Estate Jewelry:
Silver:
Victorian:
Pre 1900 item# 957773
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
505.205.1404
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This romantic and fascinating pair of cherub brooches joined by chains probably served to hold a Victorian lady's train -- gathering it to the side or into a bustle for dancing. It might also have been used as a chatelaine, from which various articles in frequent use were suspended by small hooks (e.g., keys, lorgnette, dainty scissors and such).
Whatever tricks it performed in the 19th century, it's a obvious treasure today -- perfect to secure your favorite shawls, scarves and cardigans. Alternatively, you might load the chains with charms and pin the festoon anywhere -- or let the item fulfill its original function as a bustle pin for a wedding or evening gown.
Of silvered brass, showing only minor losses of plating, the brooches feature two adorable repousse cherubs or angels, each with the good old open C clasp indicative of great age. The larger figure is 2.5 inches tall, while the smaller is an inch tall. They're united by three 8-inch chains of a silver metal brighter in color now than the pins, but those can easily be polished to match if you don't mind disturbing the patina of age. It's possible the chains are later replacements, but they're certainly not modern. My guess is that they're original, made of a material chosen to be sturdy in use.
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His or Hers Signed Wide Modernist Pink Sapphire Ring
Catalogue:
Archives:
Estate Jewelry:
Silver:
Modernism:
Pre 1950 item# 951396
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
505.205.1404
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This splendid Modernist ring will delight any woman who enjoys bold mid-century studio silver -- or one of those exciting gentlemen so self-confident they aren't shy about pink.
Half an inch wide, it makes a powerful statement on the finger of either gender and its high quality is evident at a glance, without reference to the signature: an "R" within the outline of a gemstone. We haven't yet identified that mark, so please let us know if you recognize the maker.
From the Georgia estate of a couple with extensive World War II era collections, this is a serious designer jewel dating from that period or earlier (based both on style and its "sterling" hallmark, rather than the "925" stamp that came into increasing use between 1935 and 1950). Such simple, honest early modernist pieces are the most coveted by collectors and often command higher prices in silver than later items of gold.
That the stone is pink sapphire also adds value, since "fancy" colors (pinks, oranges, yellows, greens and purples) are generally prized above all but the finest blues. It could also be called a pastel ruby, since both sapphire and ruby belong to the same mineral family: corundum. Besides their beauty, these share high honors on the hardness scale, so provide generations of pleasure as heirlooms, given reasonable care.
Condition of the ring is great, with only minor age-appropriate surface wear, Currently about a US size 6.5, it could be stretched a bit easily or resized more significantly by an expert jeweler. Based on the "sterling" mark, its origin is most likely American, but it may well have been created by a European. Through the 1930s and 1940s, many Bauhaus and similar avant-garde artisans took flight from the advance of Nazi power, quickly popularizing the "industrial" look of Modernism.
Please e-mail to confirm availability, order or request more photos. There's no charge for U.S. shipping (with an equivalent discount on international delivery) and gift-wrap is always free when desired. Thanks for looking!
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Stunning c1900 Arts & Crafts Silver & Goldstone Ring
Catalogue:
Archives:
Estate Jewelry:
Silver:
Arts and Crafts:
Pre 1910 item# 938660
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
505.205.1404
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A stunning choice for either a woman or a man, this antique ring is quintessentially Arts & Crafts. Unusual stones, mounted simply but artfully (typically in silver), are characteristic of the movement. Its adherents wanted design and craftsmanship to dominate.
Among their favorite materials was glittering goldstone: an art glass created by adding copper crystals to produce brilliant flashes of light called aventuresence. Here a large cabochon of it has been polished to a fare-thee-well and set in a classic open-backed bezel, then given a medievalist look by framing it with four curliques cleverly formed from the ends of the dual shank. The shank unites at the rear, making it easy to alter the size, now about a US 5.25. (I say "about" because different ring sizing equipment yields results that vary up to half a size, as our fingers also do with temperature and time of day.) The band is slightly out of round, a common condition that most jewelers will correct in a jiffy while you watch.
The ring's face measures 3/4" by 11/16" and its provenance is a Missouri estate. Nearby Chicago was a hotbed of outstanding Arts & Crafts metalwork, so I'll bet the ring originated there. Its quality is such that it simply had to come from a major city. As is often the case with antique jewelry, no mark is visible -- none were required in the U.S. until shortly before WWI -- but the silver looks to be sterling grade or close. Condition is excellent, requiring high magnification to notice any surface wear. A fair amount of tarnish is present, which in deference to the purists among us we'll leave in place.
There's no charge for insured U.S. Priority shipping and gift-wrap is always free when desired. Please e-mail erinharris@comcast.net to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking!
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Victorian Enameled Gilt Silver Filigree Butterfly Pin
Catalogue:
Archives:
Estate Jewelry:
Silver:
Victorian:
Pre 1900 item# 865540
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
505.205.1404
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Whenever we're longing for spring or welcoming it, a colorful butterfly brooch suits the mood. Here's an especially charming antique one, fashioned of hallmarked 800 silver with panels of exquisite plique a jour enamelwork. That's the transparent kind, which lets light gleam through like stained glass. You can even glimpse the fine filigree through the colors -- artful blends of yellow, green, aqua and violet.
We can date the brooch precisely by its pin mechanism, a type used circa 1890, yet its condition is superb. I can't find any enamel losses. The filigree shows age patina, of course, and you might want this brightened a bit. A gentle polish by your jeweler would do it. (Please don't try cleaning enameled jewels at home, since even water can be damaging.)
Particularly clever is the sturdy understructure that supports these gracefully fluttering wings; it looks rather like a bi-plane. There's also an unusual early safety catch, the type with a v-shaped lever. The clasp is an old open C.
Size is about an inch in each direction and half an inch high. Probable origin would be Austro-Hungarian or Italian, though it reached us as a Texas estate find. The reverse has, besides the 800 stamp, a lozenge-shaped maker mark we haven't yet been able to interpret.
There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping and gift-wrap is always free when desired. Thanks for looking!
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Giant Sterling and Moonstone Peace Dove Necklace '60s
Catalogue:
Archives:
Estate Jewelry:
Silver:
Modernism:
Pre 1970 item# 855705
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
505.205.1404
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If you're looking for a "statement necklace," here it is -- unmistakably making the statement "Peace and Love" via a gorgeous domed pendant 3 1/4 inches round!
This handcrafted vintage pendant of hammered sterling features a stylized dove whose wings and tail are formed with cutout hearts. Adorned with a collet-set cabochon of blue-white moonstone -- the prized color that's so hard to find today -- it also has a glinting eye of lightly gold-washed silver.
The marks are Sterling, Eden and Eden repeated within an apple shape. I find no record of a firm called Eden, so this may be the creation of an independent designer. That would also explain the Sterling mark, which large-scale makers began replacing with a 925 stamp during the 1930s. Dating has to be during the Vietnam War -- far more likely the hippie '60s than the disco '70s, based on design. Of course, given the elegance of this jewel, its style is far from basic Boho; it's what we poor college students of the time enviously called Trust Fund Hippie.
Provenance is a Cape Cod estate and condition, as you see, is superb. We added the contemporary sterling chain 20 inches long.
There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping and gift-wrap is always free when desired. Please e-mail erinharris@comcast.net to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking!
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