citrine, emeralds

old mine diamonds

Antique Diamond Grape Cluster Earrings.
Circa 1840
2" long
Kentshire, New York

feathers

green and black feather earrings
3.25-3.5 ins. gold plated fittings
http://www.artedesigns.com

butterfly in a box

Butterfly brooch
Mappin & Webb 15k yg, diamond and butterfly wing brooch with ruby glass eyes and butterfly wings set behind shaped glass, with Hungarian import marks in original box. Engraved 'Brevete dans tous les pays'. London, 1912. 21 gs. GW. 1 3/4" x 3"

Rago Great Estates Lambertville, New Jersey
Antiques, Asian, Jewelry Auction, Dec 8th, 2007
Estimate: $800 - $1,200
Sold for $3,000

butterfly

Antique 14kt Gold and Gem-set Butterfly Brooch
Vienna, with iridescent wings and full-cut diamond body, demantoid garnet eyes, wd. 2 3/8 in.
original fitted jeweler's box, Austro-Hungarian hallmarks for Vienna.

Skinner, Boston, Sept 18, 2007
Sale 2375 Lot 588
Estimate $1,000-1,500
Sold for $3877

sapphire beads

Brooch, 1953
18 karat gold; sapphires, diamonds
René Boivin
Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels, April 17. 2008

like the color of these watery sapphires and organic design. Successful.

rhodochrosite

Rhodochrosite Slab
La Capillita Mine, Catamarca, Argentina
A fine cross-section slice of rhodochrosite cut from a cave stalactite from this classic locality. The specimen displays a fascinating concentric growth banding with a rich strawberry red and white coloration and excellent polish on both sides. The outside bears the original rough textured surface of the stalactite. Measuring 3 ½ x ¼in

Bonhams, New York
Sale 16422 - Natural History, 30 Apr 2008
Sold for $1,000

I know this is not officially a jewel, but so beautiful.

chanel and verdura

Vari-shaped gemtone brooch
Gold
Fulco di Verdura for Chanel
1925

I hadn't seen this piece before stumbling on a site on Chanel jewelry. It is very similar to a pair that Diana Vreeland owned and that sold at Christie's 2005. It was done in 1925 but doesn't look of the era. Its interesting to note that Verdura started with Chanel as a textile designer before creating these Byzantine inspired looks in jewelry.

mod coral

Gold and Coral Hoop Earrings.
Circa 1955
1 1/4" diam.
Kentshire, New York

These don't look that great on, but I still think they are fun.

surreal

A diamond and red enamel ring, Salvador Dali
Designed as a pavé-set diamond 'crystal ball' held by two hands completed with red enamel fingernails
Signed Dali to one hand, for Salvador Dali; estimated total diamond weight: 5.50 carats;
Mounted in eighteen karat gold.

Bonhams & Butterfields
Sale 16075 - Fine Jewelry, 22 Apr 2008, Lot 10
The Collection of Mildred Montigue Genevieve Kimball, the Property of The Cherokee Ranch & Castle Foundation, Sedalia, Colorado

How great is this?? Totally wacky. An example I hadn't seen before.

jade

Art Deco bracelet
A platinum mounted bracelet. Set with jade, chalcedony, amethyst and diamonds.
Highlighted with blue enamel.
Mauboussin, Paris. 1927.
Peter Edwards Jewels - £45,000

Good color combo as well. Very Deco. The mix of jade and amethyst is great. The price of this piece is out of control.

agate

Antique Agate Disk Necklace with Inlaid Design.

Antique agate necklace of disk design, each disk set with inlaid multi-colored quartz within a marbled brown agate frame.
Circa 1890
Kentshire, New York

Very organic looking. Hard to believe this is 19th century.

amphorae

Antique Gold Ear Pendants.
Victorian gold earrings with articulated torpedo-shaped pendants, in 15k.
Circa 1870

Bloomed gold is gold that has been treated with acid. Its nots seen in modern jewelry, but it was popular in 19th century Etruscan Revival pieces such as this. They are hollow to make them light and wearable.

of the sea

An 18k gold, platinum, ruby and diamond shell brooch, ca. 1955-60.
French.

I love how prickly this piece is. It is almost explosive, radiating toward the viewer. Although not a signed piece, the strength of the design rivals that of Jean Schlumberger who was beginning to design for Tiffany & Co. at this time.

more jet

Victorian Jet Bracelet
Whitby jet hand carved expansion bracelet, 7" by 1-1/2" front and 7/8" sides.
The front panel is carved with a sunburst surrounded by scalloped and faceted balls,
and the side links are cross-hatched. 
http://www.morninggloryantiques.com

Another example of this rare and beautiful jewelry worn in rememberence of those who died.

renaissance revival

A gold, enamel and gem-set bracelet
Carlo and Arthur Giuliano, circa 1900
The articulated bracelet, set with twelve various step-cut gemstones, the name of each enamelled in white to one side of the bracelet, and with further black and green enamel detail to the other side, each stone connected by triple bar links highlighted with a seed pearl and enhanced with further delicate white enamel work, maker's mark 'C&AG' in an oval lozenge, length 18.3cm., fitted case by C&A Giuliano, 115 Picadilly, London

The inspiration for the design of this bracelet came from the Bible, the Book of Revelation (Chapter XXI: verses 19-21).

“The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.”

Bonhams New Bond Street
Sale 15918 - Fine Jewellery, 24 Apr 2008
Lot 22
Sold for £22,000

scottish agate

Victorian Scottish Agate Brooch
Circa 1870
2 1/4"
Kentshire

Scottish agate feels very modern to me. Created in the mid 19th century to emulate Queen Victoria's Scottish pieces, these are so wearable today. Great colors and graphic designs.

amethyst

A coral, amethyst and diamond long-chain and earclip suite
Cartier
The trace-link long-chain, set with an array of polished pink coral and amethyst beads of varying sizes with collet-set brilliant-cut diamond highlights, the pendent earclips of similar design, long-chain and earclips both signed Cartier and numbered, maker's marks and French assay marks, long-chain length 94.0cm., earclip length 5.4cm.

Bonhams, New Bond Street
Sale 15918 - Fine Jewellery, 24 Apr 2008
Sold for £6,000

Pretty color combination. This piece is modern, but it reminds me of the innovative color combos of the 1940s and 1960s done by Cartier and Van Cleef. See Elizabeth Taylor for great 1960s jewelry with the coral and amethyst combo.

fringe

A Gold Fringe Necklace. Mauboussin. French.
A gold necklace of tapering double fringe design, in 18k. Signed Mauboussin, Paris.
Circa 1955
Kentshire, New York

This necklace reminds me of a Victorian piece, but its mid-century. The gold is such a warm color and its great design, by one of the masters.

jet

Victorian Mourning Chain
This Whitby Jet chain necklace is a classic piece of mourning jewellery dating from around 1855. These items were expensive to buy and often worn as a sign of wealth, status and social position rather than a display of personal grief.

During the reign of Queen Victoria protocol dictated that only Jet jewellery could be worn at court during periods of official mourning. This royal endorsement confirmed the status of Jet as the material of choice for mourning jewellery and fuelled the expansion of the Jet industry in the late 1800's. Never was this more so than in the period following the death of Victoria's husband Prince Albert from typhoid fever in December 1861.

The double chain necklace features two Lily of the Valley carvings, depicting purity of the soul. The workmanship is exquisite and a testament to the skilled craftsmen who toiled in the small, dust ridden Victorian workshops in the northeast fishing port of Whitby.
http://www.blackasjet.co.uk/

fly

Antique 18kt Gold and Micromosaic Brooch,
Rome
The polychrome tesserae depicting a fly, suspending pendants with foliate devices, lg. 2 in.,
Roman assay mark, (minute losses, evidence of solder to pin stem).

Skinner, Boston
Sale 2375 Sept 18, 2007, lot 148
Estimate $300-400
Sold $1,175

objet de art

Perfume bottle in the form of gray agate; fish emerging from aquamarine waves
Fins of gold and black enamel, ruby eyes, jade stopper.
Cartier, no date; height 3 5/8 inches.
From the Hartman Collection at the McClung Museum


Wonderful example of a sculptural Cartier objet de art. Cartier was so creative--to me, this piece draws from the Japanese style. It is not dated, but I would guess 1925 as that is when Cartier did some of its greatest works.

zig zag

French, pair of fine yellow gold back platinum top sapphire
and diamond "zig zag" bracelets, circa 1910.
7 inches long
Firestone & Parsons, Boston

Love how graphic these early Deco bracelets are. They are surprising.

mother-of-pearl

"Waterfall" vanity case, ca. 1925
Mauboussin (1827-present)
French
Platinum, 18k gold; mother-of-pearl, diamond, enamel
Opening to reveal a fitted mirror, a covered lipstick holder and a covered compartment
case 3½ x 7 ins., with French assay marks and maker's mark
Christie's Eye of the Connoisseur
April 15, 2008

Can you imagine- this was carried in lieu of an evening bag! Superb example of the Deco aesthetic. Extremely elaborate and in perfect condition. I love how liquid the mother-of-pearl looks.

wiener werkstatte

Josef Hoffman (1870-1956)
Brooch, 1907
Silver, partly gilt; agate, coral, lapis lazuli, malachite, turquoise, and other semi-precious stones. Private Collection
On view at the Neue Galerie, New York

Jewelry as art. It does look like a Klimt painting.

coral

Brooch and ear pendants, demi-parure, ca. 1860
In original fitted case
Italian

I love how modern this monochromatic coral set feels. It could be 1930s bakelite, or even a contemporary jewel, but its 19th century carved coral. Probably a souvenir set from Italy.

moonstone

Necklace with pendant, ca. 1910
Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933)
American
Tiffany & Co. (1837–present)

Moonstones and Montana sapphires, does it get better than that?
LCT loved light and sultry color combinations. This is a great example.

arrow

Palladium and Diamond Arrow Earclips
bead-set with single and old European-cut diamonds
lg. 1 3/4 in.
Circa 1930s

Skinner, Boston
Sale 2375 Lot 569
Estimate $1,000-1,500
Sold for $3,055

These have a surrealist edge to them. Very clever and interesting. The 1930s was such a good time for design.