Antique 19k Yellow Gold Apollo Shell Cameo Brooch
Located in New York, NY
Antique 19k yellow gold shell cameo brooch depicting “Apollo.” The finely carved cameo presents the
Antique Late 19th Century Neoclassical Brooches
Yellow Gold
Antique 19k Yellow Gold Apollo Shell Cameo Brooch
Located in New York, NY
Antique 19k yellow gold shell cameo brooch depicting “Apollo.” The finely carved cameo presents the
Yellow Gold
$3,290
H 0.49 in W 2.01 in L 2.28 in
Antique 19k Yellow Gold Saul Playing Harp With Cupid Shell Cameo Brooch
Located in New York, NY
Antique 19k yellow gold shell cameo brooch depicting “Saul Playing Harp with Cupid.” The finely
Yellow Gold
$2,995
H 0.51 in W 2 in L 2.36 in
Antique 19K Yellow Gold Eros with Butterfly Symbol of Psyche Cameo Brooch
Located in New York, NY
This cameo brooch captivates with its intricate craftsmanship and delicate design. Crafted in 19k
Yellow Gold
Vintage Victorian Carved Cameo Brooch
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This exquisite Vintage Victorian Carved Cameo Brooch is a timeless piece of antique jewelry, showcasing exceptional craftsmanship from the late 19th century. The brooch features a de...
$3,000
W 1.5 in L 2 in
Antique Large Size Coral Cameo of the Goddess Diana in Profile Mounted in Yellow
Located in Wheaton, IL
Exquisite large size coral cameo of the Goddess Diana in Profile mounted in rope-twist design 14kt yellow gold frame with retractable bail so it can be worn as a pendant - all origin...
Coral, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Ancient Greek Gold Intaglio Ring Circa 4th Century BC
Located in Chicago, IL
A unique, museum quality ancient Greek gold ring, circa 4th century BC, likely a wedding ring. The ring is engraved with two wrestling Erotes. When Aphrodite (Greek goddess of love,...
Antique European Pendant Demeter Carved Shell Cameo solid 14K Rose Gold / 9.7gr
Located in SE
Antique pendant/brooch with hand carved Shell cameo depicting Demeter - Greek Goddess of the harvest and agriculture, who presided over grains and the fertility of the earth She has ...
14k Gold, Rose Gold
Antique Victorian Cameo Venus & Cupid Mourning Brooch
Located in Montreal, QC
Victorian gold-plated cameo carving of Venus & cupid mourning brooch pendant. The center turn as showing on the photo on the back is sealed with crystal, no mark found, circa 1880. I...
$5,000
W 1.86 in D 0.28 in L 2.17 in
1919 Medusa Gorgo Pendant Brooch Carved Shell Cameo solid 18K Gold / 21 gr
Located in SE
Antique pendant/brooch with hand- carved Shell Cameo depicting the head of Medusa Gorgo. Cameo carved with great accuracy and attention to detail. Shield shaped frame in solid 18K. ...
18k Gold
Antique Victorian Lava Cameo brooch, 9k yellow gold
Located in NEWARK, GB
A beautiful antique, late 19th century Lava Cameo brooch. It has a typical dark beige tone, finely carved with the profile of a classical lady. Lava Cameos and Lava stone jewellery...
9k Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique Shell Cameo Brooch, late 1800s
Located in Chesterland, OH
This fabulous carved Victorian brooch was made around the late 1800s. It depicts a beautiful portrait in the form of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures. The execution of the shell is...
Silver
Antique Platinum, Edwardian era Cabochon Moonstone and Rose Cut Diamond Ring
Located in Brighton, GB
Antique Moonstone Ring Platinum Circa 1910 Step back in time with this exquisite Edwardian era ring, crafted with exceptional attention to detail. This stunning piece features an...
Diamond, Moonstone, Platinum
Antique Victorian Gold Cameo Brooch of Hebe Feeding the Eagle
Located in Chesterland, OH
Victorian cameo depicting Hebe, the Goddess of Youth and cupbearer to the Gods. In this cameo, Hebe is depicted while feeding the eagle of Zeus. This subject was very popular in the ...
Gold, 14k Gold
Antique Gold Vermeil "Provincial Young Couple" Cameo Brooch
Located in New York, NY
This charming antique shell cameo brooch depicts a provincial young couple in a tender pastoral scene. Finely hand-carved and set in a warm gold vermeil frame, the piece captures the...
Tiffany & Co Antique 18K Gold, Enamel, and Diamond Brooch
By Tiffany & Co.
Located in New York, NY
Tiffany & Co Antique 18K Gold, Enamel, and Diamond Brooch Centering an enamel plaque depicting Venus and putti, framed by old mine-cut diamonds, approximate total weight 1.10 carats...
Diamond, 18k Gold, Enamel
$3,850
H 2.5 in W 2 in
Veiled Woman Goddess Cameo Pendant Brooch Necklace 14K Gold Museum Quality 2.5"
Located in New York, NY
This is an absolutely stunning museum quality antique Victorian Shell Cameo Pendant or Brooch in 14 Karat Gold with an extraordinary hand carved image of a Veiled Woman or Goddess wi...
Gold, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
Renaissance Cameo Pendant
Located in New Orleans, LA
The cameo at the center of this exceptional pendant is a stunning example of the art of gem engraving during the Renaissance. It likely dates to the early 17th century and features a...
Multi-gemstone, Pearl, 18k Gold, Enamel
$4,800
H 1.75 in W 1.24 in
Rose Cut Diamond Cameo Pendant Brooch French 18 Karat Gold Victorian Hardstone
Located in New York, NY
This is a stunning Antique Hardstone Cameo Pendant Brooch, framed by Rose Cut diamonds and Pearls. The pendant is Silver atop 18 Karat Gold as was the custom of the period. The pin...
Diamond, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver
Antique Sterling Silver Shell Cameo Psyche and Eros Brooch
Located in New York, NY
Antique sterling silver shell cameo brooch depicting “Psyche and Eros.” The finely carved cameo illustrates the mythological lovers in an intimate and graceful pose, capturing delica...
Sterling Silver
Gold is the feel-good metal, the serotonin of jewelry. Wear vintage and antique gold necklaces, watches, gold bracelets or gold rings and you feel happy, you feel dressed, you feel, well, yourself.
Gold, especially yellow gold, with its rich patina and ancient pedigree going back thousands of years, is the steady standby, the well-mannered metal of choice. Any discussion of this lustrous metal comes down to a basic truth: Gold is elementary, my dear. Gold jewelry that couples the mystique of the metal with superb design and craftsmanship achieves the status of an enduring classic. Many luxury houses have given us some of our most treasured and lasting examples of gold jewelry over the years.
Since its founding, in 1837, Tiffany & Co. has built its reputation on its company jewelry as well as its coterie of boutique designers, which has included Jean Schlumberger, Donald Claflin, Angela Cummings and Elsa Peretti. There are numerous gold Tiffany classics worth citing. Some are accented with gemstones, but all stand out for their design and the workmanship displayed.
For the woman who prefers a minimalist look, the Tiffany & Co. twist bangle (thin, slightly ovoid) is stylishly simple. For Cummings devotees, signature pieces feature hard stone inlay, such as her pairs of gold ear clips inlaid with black jade (a play on the classic Chanel black and tan), or bangles whose design recalls ocean waves, with undulating lines of lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl. And just about any design by the great Jean Schlumberger is by definition a classic.
Even had he eschewed stones and diamonds, Southern-born David Webb would be hailed for the vast arsenal of heavy gold jewelry he designed. Gold, usually hammered or textured in some manner, defines great David Webb jewelry. The self-taught jeweler made very au courant pieces while drawing inspiration from ancient and out-of-the-way sources — East meets West in the commanding gold necklaces made by Webb in the early 1970s. The same could be said for his endlessly varied gold cuffs.
In Europe, many houses have given us gold jewelry that sets the highest standard for excellence, pieces that were highly sought after when they were made and continue to be so.
Numerous designs from Cartier are homages to gold. There are the classic Trinity rings, necklaces and bracelets — trifectas of yellow, white and rose gold. As a testament to the power of love, consider the endurance of the Cartier Love bracelet.
Aldo Cipullo, Cartier’s top in-house designer from the late 1960s into the early ’70s, made history in 1969 with the Love bracelet. Cipullo frequently said that the Love bracelet was born of a sleepless night contemplating a love affair gone wrong and his realization that “the only remnants he possessed of the romance were memories.” He distilled the urge to keep a loved one close into a slim 18-karat gold bangle.
BVLGARI and its coin jewelry, gemme nummarie, hit the jackpot when the line launched in the 1960s. The line has been perennially popular. BVLGARI coin jewelry features ancient Greek and Roman coins embedded in striking gold mounts, usually hung on thick link necklaces of varying lengths. In the 1970s, BVLGARI introduced the Tubogas line, most often made in yellow gold. The Tubogas watches are classics, and then there is the Serpenti, the house's outstanding snake-themed watches and bracelets.
A collection called Monete that incorporated the gold coins is one of several iconic BVLGARI lines that debuted in the 1970s and ’80s, catering to a new generation of empowered women. Just as designers like Halston and Yves Saint Laurent were popularizing fuss-free ready-to-wear fashion for women on the go, BVLGARI offered jewels to be lived in.
Since Van Cleef & Arpels opened its Place Vendôme doors in 1906, collection after collection of jewelry classics have enchanted the public. As predominantly expressed in a honeycomb of gold, there is the Ludo watch and accessories, circa the 1920s, and the golden Zip necklace, 1951, whose ingenious transformation of the traditional zipper was originally proposed by the Duchess of Windsor. Van Cleef's Alhambra, with its Moroccan motif, was introduced in 1968 and from the start its popularity pivoted on royalty and celebrity status. It remains one of VCA’s most popular and collected styles.
Mention must be made of Buccellati, whose name is synonymous with gold so finely spun that it suggests tapestry. The house’s many gold bracelets, typically embellished with a few or many diamonds, signified taste and distinction and are always in favor on the secondary market. Other important mid-20th-century houses known for their gold-themed jewelry include Hermès and Ilias Lalaounis.
Find a stunning collection of vintage and antique gold jewelry on 1stDibs.
Vintage brooches, which refer to decorative jewelry traditionally pinned to garments and used to fasten pieces of clothing together where needed, have seen increasing popularity in recent years.
While jewelry trends come and go, brooches are indeed back on the radar thanks to fashion houses like Gucci, Versace, Dior and Saint Laurent, all of which feature fun pinnable designs in their current collections. Whether a dazzlingly naturalistic Art Nouveau dragonfly, a whimsical David Webb animal, a gem-studded bloom or a streamlined abstract design, these jewels add color and sparkle to your look and a spring to your step.
Given their long history, brooches have expectedly taken on a variety of different shapes and forms over time, with jewelers turning to assorted methods of ornamentation for these accessories, including enameling and the integration of pearls and gemstones. Cameo brooches that originated during the Victorian age are characterized by a shell carved in raised relief that feature portraits of a woman’s profile, while 19th-century micromosaic brooches, comprising innumerable individually placed glass fragments, sometimes feature miniature depictions of a pastoral scene in daily Roman life.
At one time, brooches were symbols of wealth, made primarily from the finest metals and showcasing exquisite precious gemstones. Today, these jewels are inclusive and universal, and you don’t have to travel very far to find an admirer of brooches. They can be richly geometric in form, such as the ornate diamond pins dating from the Art Deco era, or designer-specific, such as the celebrated naturalistic works created by Tiffany & Co., the milk glass and gold confections crafted by Trifari or handmade vintage Chanel brooches of silk or laminated sheer fabric. Chanel, of course, has never abandoned this style, producing gorgeously baroque CC examples since the 1980s.
Brooches are versatile and adaptable. These decorative accessories can be worn in your hair, on hats, scarves and on the lower point of V-neck clothing. Pin a dazzling brooch to the lapel of your blazer-and-tee combo or add a cluster of smaller pins to your overcoat. And while brooches have their place in “mourning jewelry,” in that a mourning brooch is representative of your connection to a lost loved one, they’re widely seen as romantic and symbolic of love, so much so that a hardcore brooch enthusiast might advocate for brooches to be worn over the heart.
Today, find a wide variety of antique and vintage brooches for sale on 1stDibs, including gold brooches, sapphire brooches and more.
The care that went into crafting this jewel, with its lifelike carved petals and diamond accents, matches the sentiment it represents.
For starters, it is one of the jewelry designer’s most celebrated works.
Though it sparkles with more than 27 carats of diamonds, this multifaceted gem delivers more than just dazzle.
Stellene Volandes takes us on a glittering, engrossing tour through the centuries.
From cameos to cigar bands, here are the looks on our radar this season.
The philanthropist and heiress was an avid jewelry collector, and her trove of Jean Schlumberger creations embodies the love of nature she shared with the famed designer.