 |
|
Home |
|
Rare Antique Victorian Earrings with Screw Posts c 1890 browse these categories for related items... Directory: Archives: Estate Jewelry: Costume: Rhinestone: Pre 1900: Item # 687914 GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear 56 Calle Monte Aplanado, NW Albuquerque, NM 87120 Phone: 505.205.1404 Guest Book Sold; thank you! |
|
|
Threaded posts and screw-on fasteners are a wonderful luxury, because you never have to worry about losing an earring due to a loose back. That luxury normally requires buying very costly earrings, but it wasn't so in the 1890s, when backs like these appeared on nicer costume jewelry, too. Due to the form of their fasteners, we can date these stud earrings with perfect precision. Backs looked like this ONLY in the 1890s. Also typical of the era is the rosy golden mounting that's fluted like a tart-crust to cradle each gorgeously faceted, large diamond paste. Without a doubt, every millimeter of these is original. The earrings are almost a quarter of an inch round, with most of the size in glittering stone, so they make quite an impression. Antique pastes, as you know, have much more depth and finesse than our modern rhinestones and can easily be mistaken for old-cut diamonds. The stones are in fantastic shape, showing only slight surface wear under high magnification. The rose gilt metalwork has accumulated quite a lot of age patina, so -- with apologies to the purists among us -- I recommend a fairly serious polish. A good jeweler could loosen a few of these wide prongs, take the stones out, remove a century of grunge behind them and make these shine like the dickens. I can barely restrain myself from taking them to my favorite jeweler -- but will, since the decision on how far to go with cleaning rightfully belongs to the next owner. You don't want them to look like they were made yesterday, of course, but there's clearly room for improvement short of that. From a St. Louis estate, these earrings are a truly rare find and of a style you'll delight in wearing both day and night. We've priced them this low, to allow for professional cleaning. Thanks for looking! |
|
|
|||||||||
| Categories | Shops | Join | Terms | Critique | Map | Help | |||