Catalog: Estate Jewelry: Silver (46)

This brooch or pin is in the shape of a bow, made from blue and turquoise plique a jour (translucent) enamel with twisted wire work running through it. (The colors in the photographs may be deceptive, depending on your computer monitor). The enamel over the wire spirals is turquoise, and the rest is a medium blue. “Plique a jour” translates roughly as “light of day.” Measuring 1-1/4” x 7/8", it weighs 3.1g...

This sterling silver buckle features translucent (plique a jour) enamel in a floral motif. These sash buckles with plique are quite unusual. The enamel is red, green, and two shades of blue. It is signed with a “JK” above another “JK” in a box. There are marks for London, 1886, and a duty mark. Measuring 3-1/8” x 2-1/4", it weighs 32.7g or 1.16 oz. It is in very good condition...

This unusual enameled sterling pendant comes out of the Arts & Crafts movement, roughly 1880-1920 (it can be argued that it still continues!) The enamel colors are associated with the women’s suffrage movement in the UK: green (Give), white (Women the), and violet (Vote) – or at least, that’s the story! The free-standing wire work (so unusual!) interlaces around the body of the piece, and holds an oval of mother-of-pearl in place. Also unusual is the use of some brown enamel...

This sweet brooch depicts two adorable cupids, a boy and a girl, looking serene and loving. Their plique a jour (translucent enamel) wings are a pale purple or mauve color, nicely complimenting the 900 silver. The girl is wearing a tiny necklace of roses. The pin measures 1” x 1-3/4” and weighs 5.7g. The clasp might be a replacement, but the rest is all original, and the pin is in excellent antique condition...

This brooch features an ancient Celtic design: two birds (probably swans) with enameled wings, bodies and eyes, with interlaced silver above and below. The enamel is in red, blue, green, and white. It is marked 925 for sterling silver, and has several other marks which are illegible. 1-1/2” X 1-1/4”. There are a couple places where the enamel isn’t quite perfect – please see photos...

This is one of our favorite pins! The colors are so pretty, and the leafy design is so very Arts & Crafts-y! It has a berry and leaf motif, highlighted by a central cushion-cut cabochon blue chalcedony (thought to bring good luck), with a round green aventurine cabochon on either side. Measuring 1-1/4” x 3/8", it is unmarked but tests as silver. It is in excellent condition, although the pin is a little bent (pretty typical for these old pieces)...

This beautiful unsigned ring has been attributed to Bernard Instone, one of the well-known Arts & Crafts era jewelers, who frequently didn’t sign his pieces. He often used leaves-as-prongs for setting stones, and as was often the way in the A&C movement, he didn’t use costly stones nor gold, so he could keep his prices affordable. This ring is made from sterling silver and set with a blue-green “Swiss lapis” (dyed quartz) which measures approximately 3/4” x 9/16”...

This lovely sky-blue enameled pendant tests as silver, probably sterling. It has two shades of light blue enamel on the front, highlighted by flourishes in silver. The dropper is also enameled in shaded hues of blue. The enamel continues on the back in sky blue – such wonderful attention to detail! Excluding the bale, it is 1-1/2” long by just under ¾” across...

This pretty pin features an oval purple cabochon, possibly amethyst, possibly glass (it’s hard to get a reading on this stone), centered between two hammered silver leaves (very A&C in style), all in a very Art Nouveau framework. Marked “DEPOS” (probably meant to be “DEPOSE”, which translates roughly as “patented”), it is probably from Germany. There are two illegible marks, one on the C-clasp, and one on the back. It tests as silver, measures 1-3/4” x 3/4", and weighs 4.4 g...

This is one of our very favorite pieces: a striking Jugendstil (Germany and Austria’s Arts & Crafts) pendant which is enameled in white and purple. It is made from 900 silver (a bit less fine than sterling), and centered by a lovely oval amethyst which is flanked above and below by tiny seed pearls...

This beautifully detailed sash buckle was designed for Tiffany by the well-known and highly collectible George Shiebler. The marks are: “Tiffany & Co,” the winged S for Shiebler, “Sterling,” and “4758” (we’re not sure what that means). It is 3” x 2”, with a slight curve to it, and weighs 42.2g/1.49oz. Decorated with a floral motif, it’s a classic beauty. Geo. W. Shiebler & Co. was in business under that name from 1876 until almost 1915. The buckle came in a Tiffany fabric bag...

Here is an interesting portrait in silver, of a wind-swept young person clad in a cloak and hood. It’s very detailed and just lovely. We think it’s a boy (very unusual in jewelry), as the hair seems to be quite short under the hood. The hood itself looks like a cap made from a flower, as seen on fairies in Victorian children’s books. It measures 1-1/8” wide, is hollow, and is marked “STERLING TOP GERMAN SILVER BACK”. The sterling front is in very good condition. “German silver” ...

This fabulous bracelet by Schaverien & Eastmead of Birmingham, England, is 7” long and 3/8” wide at the widest points. Each panel features enamel shading from dark green to pale green to magenta and back again. In between each panel is a round blister pearl. Each connecting link has a hard-to-read mark, probably a lion, also the marks for Birmingham, 1909, and “S&E”. The clasp has a safety chain. One enamel panel has a very small black spot, and one has a tiny chip in the enamel, barely ...

Here is a coral garland (also referred to as “festoon” or “swag”) necklace, consisting of 8 coral cabuchons of graduated lengths and sizes. The three longest drops are on rigid bars. The coral is a lovely dark ox-blood red. Coral was believed to prevent bad luck, and to be an aid to meditation. The length is 15-1/4” (but it would be easy to get an extender if needed – we can help with that; just ask), and the decorated portion is 4-1/4” x 2-1/8” at the longest point. The chain be...

This pretty pin is marked and tested as sterling silver. It features 5 rhinestones, and measures 1-3/4” x 1/2". It weighs 4.4g, and is in excellent condition. We believe it is from the 1970s, but it could be 80s. It would be great for wearing at a historical reenactment event! The photos are part of the description; please examine them carefully. Thanks! Shipping, handling & insurance within the USA included.

This beautiful pendant is straight out of the Arts & Crafts movement; it’s very much in the style of Horner, but it’s unsigned. It is enameled in an intense blue with areas of a much lighter blue. The dropper shades from a pale green through a lighter blue into an intense blue, echoing the color of the main part of the pendant. The back is marked “sterling silver”, and the dropper is marked “silver”. It measures 1-3/8 x 1-3/16, and is on a modern 18” sterling chain. In very good co...

This very Victorian grooming chatelaine is from the 1800s. It has a Chinese fish motif at the top, and dangling from that are 3 implements: a tweezers, one for cleaning nails, and an ear-cleaning device. (We saw a similar chatelaine on eBay, and the ear-cleaning implement was advertised as a device for opium users, but we don’t think so! However, as non-opium users, we could be wrong ….) It is unmarked but tests positive for silver, and with a patina consistent with age. It is lacking a belt...

This fascinating reliquary locket depicts a saint, probably St. Peter, holding a key (to the church? Or perhaps to heaven?), with a dove in the background. On the other side is a photograph of an ecclesiastical-looking person. It contains a touched relic (a bit of ribbon which has been touched to a saint’s bone or something worn by a saint); a tiny metal medal with Mary on one side, saying "Mary conceived without sin” and more Christian imagery on the other; and a wisp of cotton. It would be...