Catalog: Estate Jewelry: Silver (46)

This beautiful old miniature depicts a lovely lady, hand painted, in an asymmetrical frame set with seed pearls. It is a watch pin, meaning that there is a hook on the back (invisible from the front) for hanging a dainty watch or some other dangle – or not, if you don’t wish it. It measures 1-3/8 x 1-1/4”. It is unmarked, but has a French/Art Nouveau flavor, and tests 90-100% silver...

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 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...

This Victorian pin is a gorgeous Egyptian Revival design executed in plique a jour (translucent) enamel framed in gilded silver. The design is a noble vulture holding feathers with lotus blossoms in his (or her) talons. The vulture’s wings are detailed in both opaque and translucent enamels; the tops of the wings are opaque enamel in yellowish green, and the feathers are detailed in yellow-green plique a jour shading to burnt orange...

Fit for a museum, this rare and wonderful Egyptian Revival pin has a portrait painted on porcelain. It is mounted in 800 silver and surrounded by 16 coral beads on wire. There have been some repairs [not visible from the front] as is so common in jewelry repaired in the 19th century. 1 1/4" diameter. Circa 1875.

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...

This silver buckle is so perfectly Art Nouveau and so perfectly William B. Kerr. It is 5 1/4" wide and 1 5/8" high and bears these markings: PATENTED JUNE 25, 1901; STERLING; 1564; and the fasces [maker's mark for Kerr]. It is in excellent condition, and the patina of age has been left undisturbed. Circa 1900.

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. There is a pearl dangle (which we added, as the original was missing) below an arc of milgrained metal. It measures 1-1/2” x 7/8” and weighs 4.7g...

This maple leave pin consists of plique a jour enamel in a sterling silver setting. This lovely pin is highlighted with paste accent stones along the main leaf veins. The green plique is a very nice rich color. The pin seems to be missing one leaf, however, someone filled in the space with a pretty drop made of green agate, so the loss is hardly noticeable. It is centered by a faux pearl. The enamel itself is in good shape, with only a few hairline cracks - normal in all but the very best pieces...

This lovely pendant is beautiful, antique, European, and signed by a famous but mysterious maker--can it get any better? The Art Nouveau movement revolutionized art and design in the late 1890s and early 1900s across continents. In Germany, the style was called Jugend Stil—Young Style, and many of the better known jewelry makers congregated in Pforzheim...

This plique a jour pendant is centered with an oval white opal and accented with eight colorless brilliants. The dropper is a fresh water pearl. The translucent enamel is an unusual and lovely blue in color. Plique a jour, that unusual, difficult, and beautiful technique, dates from the 15th century. It was used by Cellini, then revived in the late 1800s in France. The metal frame in this lovely piece is 900 silver, suggesting that the piece is most likely German or Austrian in origin...

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. There is a li...

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 pretty lavalier or pendant is enameled on both sides - unusual for Arts & Crafts pieces. The front has a central panel in a beautiful peacock blue, and 2 outer panels in the shape of stylized hearts, in a darker blue. The back is sky-blue (a little worn at a few of the high points). There is a freshwater pearl drop. It weighs 2.1g and measures 1-5/8” from the top of the bail to the bottom of the pearl. It comes on a sterling chain (stamped “STERLING”) which is probably modern. In good...

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...

This beautiful pair of scarab design cufflinks is marked for Unger Bros, a well-known turn-of-the-century American jewelry maker. Each beetle or scarab is 1/2" by 13/16". They are made of sterling silver. Circa 1900-1905.

This one piece sterling silver buckle would be stunning on a black velvet sash! It was made by Unger Bros in the early 20th century. The ornamental design is a classic scroll and acanthus. The buckle is 4 1/4" x 2 1/2". Marks are 925 (sterling) and the Unger Bros markIt is in excellent condition.

The Charles Horner company of Halifax was renowned for beautiful silver and enamel Arts & Crafts jewelry. This moth pin is sterling silver with blue and turquoise enamel and is 1 3/4" wide. It is fully hallmarked, for Chester, England, 1908, and carries the Charles Horner maker's mark.