Peridot Parure

Also called Romantic period jewelry, antique early Victorian jewelry and watches were a celebration of the young monarch’s love.

When Prince Albert became engaged to Queen Victoria, he gave her a serpent ring with emerald eyes, her birthstone. While this may seem a bit simple for our contemporary tastes, the serpent symbolizes eternity, and has become a popular motif in jewelry. The tail in the serpent’s mouth forms an unbroken circle. This dewy-eyed happiness trickled down to the masses and men and women favored jewelry that was sentimental and full of symbolism. Today, antique Victorian jewelry is very coveted and highly collectible.

Romantic period jewelry tends to be feminine and ornate. Flowers, hearts, birds, and bows were just some of the common decorative motifs. These pieces were embellished with seed pearls, coral and turquoise. It was common to express your devotion with jewelry — REGARD and DEAREST rings were particularly popular. These rings were set with stones that corresponded to each letter: Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby, Diamond.

Most often, the design of the ring was simple, with the stones going across the shank of the ring in a line, but it was not uncommon to see a REGARD ring in a flower formation, with each stone set in the petal of the flower.

Another common early Victorian ring style was two hands clasping a flower or stone. They came in many styles and were made of coral and ivory but also of gold with precious and semiprecious gemstones. These rings, while not exclusively Victorian, are often associated with the time period and symbolized friendship. Lockets enclosed with hair, cameos depicting cupid or a loved one’s face and enamel pieces were also popular.

The early Victorian period corresponded with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Jewelry, no longer made only by hand, became more affordable during the 19th century. The growing middle class also helped increase the demand for it. This was reflected in how women styled their jewelry; they were not afraid to adorn themselves from head to toe with stacking and layering in between. Considering the time period (this was before the California Gold Rush), a lot of pieces in the Romantic period were made using low-karat gold or were gold-plated. Fine gold wire was also employed frequently to add to the design. This is a nice trick to know when determining the date of Victorian jewelry.

Find a range of antique Romantic period brooches, necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry on 1stDibs.

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.

Vividly colored. Relatively inexpensive. The striking green gemstone that is the star of the show in your vintage and antique peridot jewelry and watches is timeless and loved all over the world.

Suffering from nightmares? Try placing a peridot next to your pillow. In ancient Egypt, where the semiprecious stone was first discovered (and where it was referred to as the “gem of the sun”), it was believed to have magical powers, including the ability to protect people from evil spirits, including the ones responsible for bad dreams. Luckily for those wanting to test their efficacy against nighttime terrors, peridots are relatively inexpensive. Luckier still for August babies, whose birthstone it is, the vibrant green jewel in vintage peridot earrings, peridot rings and more goes beautifully with a summer wardrobe.

Peridot was mined in ancient times, perhaps as early as 1500 BC, on Topazos Island, today known as Zabargad or St. John’s Island, in the Red Sea. According to gemologist Edward Gübelin, “the occurrence of peridot on Zabargad is intimately related to the regional geology and the tectonic processes that on a larger scale were responsible for the formation of the Red Sea itself.”

Those ancient deposits have been exhausted. Today the largest and finest peridots come from Pakistan and Myanmar, while the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona is the source of most of the stones used in mass-produced jewelry. Peridots are also found in Vietnam, Tanzania and China.

Zabargad is the source of the most famous large peridots, several of which are prized parts of public collections. The Natural History Museum in London owns a 146-carat step-cut stone, but it is the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, that boasts the largest cut peridot, weighing 310 carats. Then there’s the Chicago Field Museum’s pear-shaped Green Goddess, weighing 154-carat and etched with the figure of a woman. It was acquired at the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893, and In 2008, the renowned Chicago jeweler Lester Lampert designed an 18-karat yellow-gold setting for the stone, surrounding it with 3.24 carats of yellow diamonds.

Find vintage and antique peridot brooches, necklaces and other accessories on 1stDibs.

Earrings have a rich, diverse history, and while there are many types of this accessory to choose from, the dangle style is one of the most enduring designs. Today antique and vintage dangle earrings are timeless adornments that can make any outfit instantly more glamorous.

One of the oldest known pairs of dangle earrings was made of jade between 7,500 and 8,200 years ago in Inner Mongolia. Hoop earrings — of which there have been countless variations — are as old as Ancient Mesopotamia, and Ancient Egyptians wore dangle earrings that had sacred symbolism as part of their jewelry practices. In ancient Rome, dangle earrings with pearls and other precious materials were popular.

Dangle earrings vary in length, but they are all designed to cascade off the ears. Some dangle earrings barely fall past the bottom of the earlobe while others fall low enough to graze the shoulders or even fall past them. During the Renaissance period, women wore up-do hairstyles so they could show off their dangle earrings. Even noblemen joined the trend, donning a sole dangle earring adorned with a pearl.

Georgian women preferred heavy girandole earrings that featured candelabra-like arrangements of precious metal and stones. Dangle earrings in the 19th century were simpler, often featuring a single suspended gemstone in a drop-earring style. Going into the 20th century, screw-back earrings and clip-ons became popular, leading to more minimal stud designs. However, dangle earrings have always come back into fashion.

Whether they are made with diamonds, beads or feathers, dangle earrings are statement pieces reflecting the shifting styles over the years. Find the perfect antique and vintage dangle earrings for any occasion on 1stDibs.