GEORGIAN/early VICTORIAN rare pinchbeck and woven hair bracelet with a faceted purple paste stone in a cannetille work clasp. Four colors of plaited hair made up this bracelet, which makes me wonder if it might have been made by four daughters for their mother. It is 7" long and 1-1/4" wide.  It was featured in Southeastern Antiquing & Collecting Magazine, August 2003. Similar Victorian hair jewelry bracelet designs can be seen in A. Bernard & Co. Catalogue 1870.     View   View   View   View   View   View   #V1957

 GEORGIAN 15 carat amethyst and yellow gold pendant, bracelet and earrings set in pinchbeck, circa 1840. The stamped settings are typical of the new manufacturing techniques circa 1840, and the gorgeous teardrop shaped and oval amethysts are nicely faceted and open backed. The pendant total length 3-1/3", bracelet 6-1/3", earrings 3-1/2" total length, box 3-1/2" square and 1-5/8" deep.    View   View   View   View   View   View   View   View   #V34763

     GEORGIAN hair sepia neoclassical art mourning ring, sepia hair painting on ivory under crystal showing a woman crying into her handkerchief under a weeping willow tree and beside a tomb, engraved "Jas. Liddell, Jan.1784 Ae 42", typical Georgian navette shape surrounded by amethysts, size 8 and 1-1/4" along the finger, no marks, total weight .32. One tiny amethyst is chipped, visible only under magnification. Rings similar to this can be seen in "Sentimental Jewelry" by Ann Louise Luthi page 8-9; and in "Georgian Jewellery" by Davidov and Collins page 160.   View   View   View   View   #V34828     

GEORGIAN 14 karat yellow gold set porcelain pendant with pearls, the subject is a shepherd playing his pipes with his dog seated beside him 1-1/3" by 1" with a 1/4" loop.  View   View   #V36014 

 GEORGIAN/VICTORIAN c. 1840s pinchbeck Swiss floral enamel bracelet with black and white enameling, 7-1/4" by 2".   View   View   View   View   View   View   View   #V32251

GEORGIAN brooch of a hand painted portrait on ivory under glass set in silver with rubies. See Dawes & Collings "Georgian Jewellery, 1714-1830" page 130.  #VHM7  

     GEORGIAN/EARLY VICTORIAN cut steel daisy motif set: the necklace is 18" by 1-1/3", the bracelet 7" by 1-1/3", early to mid-1800's. Polished steel faceted studs were riveted to a steel backing to fashion this type of jewelry. This set is particularly pristine and especially brilliant as each tiny stud has 12 facets. See Clifford's Cut-Steel & Berlin Iron Jewellery, plate II (possible attribution to Frichot); Romero's Warman's Jewelry, Ed. 3 page 33; Benette & Mascetti's Understanding Jewellery page 62; Becker's Antique & Twentieth Century Jewelry on page 78, and Bell's Collecting Victorian Jewelry page 41.   View   View   View   View   #V25841

    VICTORIAN bog oak rare and very old carved bead necklace, probably early 1800s, 36" long, See Helen Muller's book "Jet" page 122 and Dawes & Collings "Georgian Jewellery, 1714-1830" page 167.  View   #V29209  

  GEORGIAN cut steel and glass half-pearl necklace, circa 1775-1800, 14 facets on each stud, glass half pearls set in steel, 17-1/2" chain with 2-1/2" front drop. Most studs have 12-15 facets. "Fabulous" is a considerable understatement when describing this necklace. See Dawes & Collings "Georgian Jewellery, 1714-1830" page 18.    View   View   View   View   View   #V31374  

GEORGIAN/early VICTORIAN natural seed pearl brooch with gut on mother-of-pear backing set in gold filled setting, circa 1840, 1-1/2" by 1-1/4". This delicate piece is not missing a single tiny pearl and is in amazing condition, a great example of the hand work that makes these so desirable.   View   View   View   #V33718

It is interesting that seed pearls were used in different ways as the decades progressed. In Victorian jewelry it was set in gold, onyx and jet, where the seed pearls were often used to represented tears. It was used again in Edwardian jewelry, often in the form of delicate crescent moons and stars, birds in flight and lavalieres.

GEORGIAN/VICTORIAN natural seed pearls strung with gut on mother-of-pearl backing bracelet circa 1840, comes in box marked Boodle & Dunthorne Goldsmith's, 13 Lord Street, Liverpool, 7-1/3" by 5/8" at the widest. Looks like lace made of pearls. There are 4 tiny pearls missing from the left side of the center leaf motif. This bracelet, like all these antique seed pearl pieces, is extremely delicate and could only be worn with great care, an elegant collector's piece.   View   View   View   View   View   View   #V33717

Seed pearl jewelry in this delicate style, sewn to a mother-of-pearl backing,  was popular in the early 1800s when women wore delicate Classically styled Grecian costumes. By the time of Prince Albert's death in 1860, crinolines became popular and both clothing and jewelry became heavier.

GEORGIAN Halley's comet brooch, rose cut diamonds set in 15 karat gold, in vintage box, 1-1/8". Each time it was to be seen in the heavens, a surge of comet jewelry became popular again, worn to commemorate the excitement of it's sighting. It was seen, among other years, on November 16, 1835 and this pin dates to that sighting. Mark Twain was born shortly thereafter, and coincidentally passed away at it's next sighting in 1910. It is one of the most beautifully made comet pins I have ever seen, a tiny treasure to illustrate a glowing event.   View   View   #V34393
 

GEORGIAN 12k yellow gold and amethyst drop pendant brooch, 1-1/2". The amethysts are faceted and have a buff top (slight bow on the top facet), which I see occasionally on Georgian amethysts, and they are a lovely shaded color. The brooch has Georgian dog teeth settings. From the back you can see that this was part of a necklace at one time, and was changed to this pin long ago.  View   View   #V36561

 GEORGIAN 18k yellow gold and banded agate memorial ring, hallmarked London, engraved "Michael Simpson died 12 July 1835 Age 40 Years" and dated 1835, size 7-1/4, as is.    View   View   #K29309

GEORGIAN 18 carat yellow gold 1820-1840 ring with mine cut diamond, four natural pearls and black and white enamel, size 7-3/4. You can just barely see where it was once engraved as a memorial inside the band. The raised design goes all around the band  in a chain-like design meeting at the front with scrolls that hold the central rectangular element. There is loss of some of the black enameling visible only under magnification and wear on some of the pearls. The diamond is approximately 0.15 carat, SI-2 clarity and I-J color, ring total weight 5.086 grams.  View   View   #V32118 

GEORGIAN/EARLY VICTORIAN 14k yellow gold earrings, each a foil-backed closed cut down collet set dark citrines suspending an acorn-shaped hair pendant on early hinged ear wire findings, 1-1/2". This pattern is shown in the reprint of "The Art of Hair Work, 1875" by Mark Campbell, page 121.  #V32067

GEORGIAN early 1800's 10k yellow gold and garnet lace pin with hair enclosure, 1", one garnet replaced with a glass stone.   View   View   #V29759

GEORGIAN early 1800's 14k yellow gold, garnet and pearl lace pin with hair enclosure, 3/4" by 5/8".   View   #V32198

GEORGIAN man's lace brooch with hair insert, engraved "Susanna Bush, obt 12 Aug 1807 alt 30", an unusually early date, 1".   View   View   #V29477

GEORGIAN hair pin surrounded by two rows of tiny seed pearls, braided brown hair under a beveled glass cover, circa 1810, 7/8" by 5/8". Pieces like this are called "handkerchief pins" in Romero's book "Warman's Jewelry Edition 3" on page 34 and I have also seen them called "lace pins".  View   #V35964

GEORGIAN 15 karat and glass pearl matching bracelets with hair compartment and later-added costume glass seed pearl strands, 7-1/2" length with 1/3" by 1/3" clasps. I believe these may have originally been woven hair bracelets and the glass pearls replaced the worn hair in the early 20th century, allowing the bracelets to continue to be worn.  View   View   #V35926  

GEORGIAN garnet and moss agate tiny pin circa 1810, 3/4" by 5/8". Pieces like this are called "handkerchief pins" in Romero's book "Warman's Jewelry Edition 3" on page 34 and I have also seen them called "lace pins".  View   #V35965

     GEORGIAN hair brooch, tiny rectangular with black faceted stone frame, curved shape, 1".   View   #V27357

   GEORGIAN/VICTORIAN "In Memory Of" hair brooch with the name "Sarah" in hair compartment, 7/8".   View   #V27608   

   GEORGIAN handkerchief pin with plaited brunette hair, gold frame, 1".   #V27585 

REFERENCES:

Georgian Jewellery, 1714-1830 by Dawes & Collings
Warman's Jewelry, 3rd Edition by Christie Romero
Jewels and Jewelry by Clare Phillips and Ian Thomas
Jewelry- Styles of Georgian & Victorian Arthur Guy Kaplan
Invest in Georgian Jewelry