Gorgeous Antique Suffragette Earrings WW I Era
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Estate Jewelry:
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Rhinestone:
Pre 1920 item# 945447
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
Phone: 505.205.1404
$135
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The "Czecho" signature on these lovely Suffragette earrings lets us date them precisely to the first years of the Czech Republic (established in 1918). The region was previously known as Bohemia, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until World War I ended. Bohemian glass has been prized from medieval times and the stones here certainly live up to the area's reputation. Its enamelwork was admired, too, and that features here, as well.
Although the dating is technically transitional, falling between the death of King Edward and the period dominated by geometric Art Deco style, these earrings are extremely Edwardian in spirit, so would have been crafted soon after the war. The screw backs are also right for that period, when women found ear-piercing rather barbaric.
I especially love the fresh apple green of the emerald-cut faux peridots, which repeats in tiny round stones on both white-enameled blossoms. Stronger hues come into play, in accents of faux emerald and amethyst.
As you know if you collect Suffragette jewelry, this unusual color combination held deep meaning among 19th century and early 20th century feminists, for whom green represented hope, purple signified dignity and white stood for purity. The language we associate with "regard" jewelry applied, too: The "G" of green, "W" of white and "V" of violet comprised an abbreviation for Give Women (the) Vote. All this seems cryptic now, but was clearly understood by everyone in an era when messages were also communicated by which flowers you sent, how you held your fan and which corner of a calling card you folded down, if any.
Measuring about 3/4 of an inch tall and a 5/8 of an inch wide, these are large enough to be noticed easily, but not overpowering. They reached us from a St. Louis estate in superb condition -- not unusual, because Suffragette jewels were worn typically for meetings and marches, rather than on an everyday basis. Assuming careful storage, the stones and even the gilt metal settings can look practically new. In this case, only the actual screws have darkened with age, since those weren't gilded.
Tucked away and forgotten for decades after women won the vote, Suffragette jewelry began rapidly gaining value when the movie "Iron Jawed Angels" appeared in 2004, revealing what the gals went through (including hunger strikes and beatings). We try our best to maintain a good selection, but demand keeps growing. If these strike your fancy, you'd better not delay.
There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping, with an equivalent discount on international delivery. Please e-mail erinharris@comcast.net to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking!
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Remarkable Domed Antique Ring in Suffragette Colors
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Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Rhinestone:
Pre 1930 item# 938646
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
Phone: 505.205.1404
Sold; thank you!
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As you know if you collect Suffragette jewelry, rings are the holy grail. Of the few made, most are very fine and priced accordingly. An example with faux gems is a rare find, especially one this impressive in size.
Its condition is wonderful, too, but that isn't so unusual. Because Suffragette jewels of all types were worn typically for meetings and marches, not on an everyday basis, they've often survived looking nearly new, assuming careful storage.
This ring is just about flawless. Only under extremely high magnification can any surface wear be noted on its stones, even the glass pearls, or on high points of the gilded surface -- a ruffly round of heart-shaped scrollwork crowned by a richly colored dome of pretend emeralds, pearls and amethyst.
Slightly more than inch in diameter, this is a jewel that can't be overlooked, and its shank is adjustable to fit any finger. The Art Nouveau styling would lead me to call it Victorian -- and it may be -- but the sensational condition suggests a more conservative circa 1920 dating. As you know, American women attained the vote in 1920, but it took until 1928 for all women in England to be included. Probable origin is Czech (or Bohemian, if made before WWI dissolved the old Austro-Hungarian Empire). The ring reached us from a Midwestern estate.
The unusual color combination held deep meaning among 19th century and early 20th century feminists, for whom green represented hope, purple signified dignity and white stood for purity. The language we associate with "regard" jewelry applied, too: The "G" of green, "W" of white and "V" of violet comprised an abbreviation for Give Women (the) Vote. All this seems cryptic now, but was clearly understood by everyone in an era when messages were also communicated by which flowers you sent, how you held your fan and which corner of a calling card you folded down, if any.
Tucked away and forgotten for decades, Suffragette jewelry began rapidly gaining value when the movie "Iron Jawed Angels" appeared in 2004, revealing what the gals went through (including hunger strikes and beatings). We try our best to maintain a good selection, but demand keeps growing. At present, we have several necklaces, brooches and earring sets in stock, but we've never had the opportunity to offer a costume ring before. If it strikes your fancy, you'd better not delay.
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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Antique Art Nouveau Suffragette Dangle Earrings
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Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Rhinestone:
Pre 1920 item# 935281
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
Phone: 505.205.1404
$145
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Dating from the very early 20th century, these spectacular antique earrings make their feminist statement in a pretty, flirty way -- with a profusion of Art Nouveau details, loads of jewels and a graceful form that sets the drops dancing as you move.
Both the surmounts and the drops are highly dimensional, Adorning them are two huge cabochons of art glass (or possibly Galalith) jade, four sparkling amethyst pastes and four faux pearls. They measure about 2.25 inches long and .75 inch wide
As you know, the unusual combination of green, purple and white typically signifies that a jewel was first owned by a member of the Suffragette movement. For them, green represented hope, purple signified dignity and white stood for purity. The language we associate with "regard" jewelry applied, too: The "G" of green, "W" of white and "V" of violet comprised an abbreviation for Give Women (the) Vote. All this seems cryptic now, but was clearly understood by everyone in an era when messages were also communicated by which flowers you sent, how you held your fan and which corner of a calling card you folded down, if any. To the Suffragettes' efforts through many decades in the U.K. and U.S., we modern women owe our right to vote. That right was finally extended to all American women in 1920 and to all in Great Britain in 1928. Thus, although most of the jewelry is Victorian, Edwardian or transitional, some was crafted in the Art Deco era. Forgotten for many years, these jewels have been rapidly gaining value since the movie "Iron Jawed Angels" appeared in 2004, revealing what the gals went through (including hunger strikes and beatings). Wearing Suffragette jewels is a great way to show your pride and appreciation and, now that the genre has been rediscovered, they're getting much harder to find.
These earrings, which reached us from a estate in the Carolinas, probably originated in Europe, quite possibly France. They're quite substantial piece and in lovely condition. A little age-appropriate surface wear can be noted on the reverse, but the front shows only the patina of time and all stones appear original. Based on the ornate screw-type fasteners, most likely dating is circa 1910 - 1920, although they could be a little earlier or later.
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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Glamorous Antique German Art Deco Brooch Earrings Set
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Estate Jewelry:
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Rhinestone:
Pre 1940 item# 723174
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
Phone: 505.205.1404
$170
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Between the two world wars, Weimar Germany was a hotbed of creativity. Their museums led the world in showcasing modern art, their cabarets were the raciest and the Bauhaus blazed trails in architecture and industrial design. Of course Hitler soon spoiled the party, but those innovative times are remembered in jewelry like this.
Our remarkable German brooch and earrings set takes Art Deco style to extremes of inventiveness in terms of sculptural form, bold graphic patterning and even use of materials. The jewels are formed of aluminum! The gently cupped discs are brushed to a cool matte finish for the background, but polished to scintillating brightness where the stylized light rays appear -- and, in the center of each piece is a dome piled high with prismic diamond rhinestones.
The Deco era idolized speed -- fast cars and planes -- and aluminum evokes that spirit superbly. It also allows for jewels to be quite large without much weight at all. It further had the benefit of being inexpensive, which was vital in those years of hardship imposed by Germany's burden of World War I reparation payments. Their economy was in shambles long before the Depression hit elsewhere. Jewels such as these -- which, with only artistry and time, transformed simple aluminum and glass into dazzlers -- capture a great deal of poignant history.
Marked "Germany," they were clearly made for export to English-speaking markets that soon closed with Hitler's rise and conversion to a war economy. Since post-war products were designated as West or East German for many decades to come, the set can have been made only in the 1920s or early 1930s. The earring fasteners, being an experimental narrow form of clip, suggest a circa 1930 dating. Screw backs were typical of the 1920s and modern wide clips of the type we still see were introduced in 1934.
Still with every rhinestone sparkling and in lovely condition overall, the brooch measures 2 inches round and the earrings 1.5 inches round. The only flaw I see is that the brooch mechanism revolves around the rivet, which has created slight surface wear at the back. When pinned on, of course it wouldn't move around, but you might want your jeweler to tighten the fastener. Provenance of these beauties is an estate in the Great Lakes area.
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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Elegant Antique Aquamarine Paste Dangle Drop Earrings
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Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Rhinestone:
Pre 1930 item# 720684
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
Phone: 505.205.1404
$140
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These antique dangle earrings are as stylish now as they were about a hundred years ago in Edwardian and Art Deco times. The very vertical look of their extra-long drops is exactly what we see gracing fashion runways and red carpet occasions today. They move beautifully, too, since the teardrops are articulated to sway with your every step or sigh. Loaded with color, these treasures are pavé-set with aquamarine pastes of four different sizes and such fabulous quality that every stone remains brilliant. I expect they're of Czech origin (more properly Bohemian, if made before World War I ended).
The metal isn't marked, but responds to polish like silver, so must have fairly high silver content. With apologies to the purists among us, I removed some tarnish from the backs after these photos were taken.
Overall length is about 2.75 inches, provenance is a New York estate and, as you see, condition is lovely. Your jeweler could easily remove the screw backs and install posts, if you like, since the rings holding the drops are attached to the posy-shaped tops, not just the fasteners.
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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Romantic Vintage Floral Filigree and Enamel Ring - Mint
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Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Rhinestone:
Pre 1970 item# 720549
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
Phone: 505.205.1404
$85
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From old store stock, never worn, this gorgeous vintage ring is typical of the style favored by "flower children" of the late 1960s. It's an excellent Art Nouveau Revival piece with graceful, curvy lines and beautiful enamelwork in shades of violet, mauve, sage and silvery gray. Being richly surfaced with high-carat gold and set with diamond rhinestones of restrained size, it's a pretender good enough to fool anybody but a jeweler -- thus suitable to wear with fine jewelry, not merely on occasions when you'd rather not worry about protecting the real thing (when traveling, for instance).
Currently about a US size 6, it can be easily altered up or down, since the back of the shank is plain. It's like-new condition makes it a particularly wonderful gift item. The face is an inch tall and the shape is highly dimensional, so this is a ring with a lot of presence, looking far more expensive than it is.
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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Wow - Retro Vintage Rhinestone Earrings as Big as Ears!
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Estate Jewelry:
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Rhinestone:
Pre 1960 item# 691192
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
Phone: 505.205.1404
$129
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Want to be the center of attention at your next big party? Wear these and you'll steal the show!
This is frankly the most astounding pair of rhinestone earrings that I've EVER seen. Fixed arcs of brilliants surround the giant wing shapes and sparkling dangle drops cascade all around, two layers deep at the bottom. Imagine the dazzle when they're all in motion!
The sculptural, supershine metalwork must be of chromium or rhodium, both hard-wearing, tarnish-free lookalikes for platinum, because they're all in the same family of minerals. As you see, the settings are exquisitely made.
Size is a whopping 2 3/4 inches from top to bottom and 1 1/4 inches wide, provenance is a Midwestern estate and probable dating would be 1945-1955, with clip backs right for the period. Their condition is immaculate -- perhaps because the prior owner never dared to wear them. Certainly they're fit for a film star: real Glamor Goddess stuff sure to turn all heads your way.
Thre's no charge for insured U.S. shipping 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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Huge Sculptural Vintage Rhinestone Bow Brooch '30s
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Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Rhinestone:
Pre 1940 item# 691136
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
Phone: 505.205.1404
$115
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This gorgeous rhinestone and pot metal bow brooch is antique or very nearly so, by American 75-year standards. It's exactly the sort of jewel that ladies favored in the 1930s, when the flat look of Art Deco gave way to dimensionality and film stars dripping with diamonds set the taste. The Depression was still on, though, so lesser mortals made do with loads of rhinestones.
Of truly important scale, more than 3 inches wide and 2 inches tall, this brooch is big enough to command attention even on a coat or cape. It would also look fabulous pinned to a ribbon choker or in your hair. It's paved with faceted round rhinestones, of which there must be close to a hundred. Age-appropriate surface wear is apparent on reverse, but the front is pretty close to perfect. Here the metalwork is quite bright, apparently surfaced with rhodium or chromium, the hard-wearing cousins of platinum. A few stones may be later replacements, but they're all well-matched for color. Provenance is a Dallas area estate.
Rhinestone brooches of similar age and scale are offered elsewhere for as much as $500, so ours is a steal -- and would make an extremely impressive gift. For further savings, there's no charge for insured U.S. shipping 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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Antique Deco Earrings Jeweled in Suffragette Colors
Catalogue:
Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Rhinestone:
Pre 1940 item# 601191
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
Phone: 505.205.1404
$135
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(& Gift Wrap if Desired)
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When you see green, white and violet together on historic jewelry -- as in these spectacular Art Deco earrings -- this unusual color combination usually means the piece was first owned by a member of the Suffragette movement. To them, the first letters of these colors stood for Give Women (the) Vote. Green also represented hope; white signified the purity of their intentions; and violet was a reference to dignity ("the royal purple").
To the Suffragettes' efforts through many decades in the U.K. and U.S., we modern women owe our right to vote. That was finally extended to all American women in 1920 and to all in Great Britain in 1928. Thus, although most of the jewelry is Victorian, Edwardian or transitional, some dates from Art Deco times. The last celebratory pieces marking their achievement would have been made around 1930.
These earrings are a bit of a puzzle for dating. The look of the fancy, massive stones and geometric half-orb of gilt metalwork between the green and purple feathers is sheer 1920s -- but clip fasteners didn't come along until Late Deco times, shortly after 1930. Frankly I doubt that these backs are original, and I mean the whole backs. The clips are attached to panels of filigree that would have been very easy to install after removing earlier screws. I expect backs like these were sold for exactly that purpose, because they do such a good job of concealing all evidence of prior fasteners. One would have to take them off to be sure.
Of course their precise age doesn't matter now. By American 75-year standards, they're already antique or almost. What's important is that they're in fantastic condition, with glamorous large stones that are probably Czech, and large enough to look really important when worn (1 1/4 inch tall, an inch wide and half an inch thick.) And these early clips are surprisingly comfortable, as well as quite secure.
Suffragette jewelry has been rapidly gaining value since the TV movie "Iron Jawed Angels" appeared in 2004, revealing what those gals went through (including hunger strikes and beatings). Wearing Suffragette jewels is a great way to show your pride and appreciation and, now that the genre has been rediscovered, they're getting much harder to find. If you like these, you'd better not delay.
There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping 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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Art Deco Enameled Rhinestone Bluebird Brooch 1930s
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Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Rhinestone:
Pre 1940 item# 511022
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
Phone: 505.205.1404
$45.
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The early Art Deco period was all about luxury, but then came The Crash and, as people entered the 1930s, they learned to take pleasure in simpler things. That's why the costume jewelry of that era features spirit-lifting designs like bluebirds, always symbolic of happiness.
Here's a perfect example of "Depression Deco" -- impossible to look at without smiling. The form is pure Deco sleek, without the Retro furbelows that arrived later in the decade, but it has the warmth of a yellow gold finish plus oodles of heavenly blue -- both sapphire rhinestones and sky blue enamel. There are also touches of white enamel on the feathers and red for the eyes, not to mention two wide arcs of diamond rhinestones on the wings. Condition is quite good, with only the minor wear you'd expect 75-year-old enamel and gilding to show under high magnification. This is a quality piece, heavier than you'd expect it to be. Size is 1 1/4" by 1 1/2" and provenance is a New York estate.
Please e-mail to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking!
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