Nautical 2

Georgian diamond brooch in silver. Set with twenty one cushion shape table cut diamonds in closed back cut down settings with an approximate com...

Colour change Ceylon sapphire and diamond ring. Set to centre with an oval old cut natural unenhanced pinkish purple colour change Ceylon sapphire,...

Victorian sapphire and diamond five stone ring. Horizontally set with two cushion shape old cut natural unenhanced sapphires, one of Burmese origin, the other Basaltic, in open back ...

Art Deco natural Ceylon cabochon sapphire and diamond ring. Set with an oval cabochon natural unenhanced Ceylon sapphire with an approximate weight of 12.22 carats in an open back ru...

Bailey, Banks and Biddle two stone diamond ring. Set with two round old cut diamonds in open back millegrain collet settings with a total weight...

Oscar Heyman Brothers ruby and diamond ring. Set with twenty four square baguette cut diamonds in open back channel settings with rubover border and an approximate combined weight of...

Tiffany & Co. sapphire and diamond line bracelet. Set with twenty four rectangular step cut natural unenhanced sapphires in open back half rubover settings with a combined approximat...

Kutchinsky diamond hoop earrings. A matching pair, each set with ten marquise shape brilliant cut diamonds in open back half-rubover settings, twenty in total with a combined approxi...

Two stone old mine diamond cocktail ring. Centrally set with two cushion shape old mine diamonds, one I colour, SI1 clarity, with a weight ...

Colombian emerald and diamond cross pendant. Set to centre with a round transitional cut diamond in an open back claw setting with an...

Signed Art Nouveau gold brooch set with rose cut diamonds. Set with eleven round rose cut diamonds in closed back grain settings with a combined approximate weight of 0.06 carats, to...

Colombian emerald and diamond cluster ring. Set to centre with an octagonal emerald-cut natural Colombian emerald with minor clarity enhancement in an open back rubover setting with ...

Purple Ceylon sapphire and diamond cluster ring. Centrally set with a cushion shape old cut natural unenhanced purple Ceylon sapphire in an open back claw setting, with an approximat...

Ceylon colour change sapphire and diamond coronet cluster ring. Centrally set with a cushion shape old cut natural unenhanced Ceylon blue/purple colour change sapphire, blue in dayli...

Diamond and sapphire target ring. Set centrally with a round old cut diamond in an open back rubover millegrain setting with an approximate weight of 1.10...

Art Deco Burmese ruby and diamond ring. Set with a natural unenhanced Burmese oval old cut ruby in an open back claw setting with an approximate weight of 1.50 carats, flanked by two...

Georgian hair ring. Set with a yellow gold shield shape plaque to centre with blue enamel frame and white enamel to the corners around an engraved central ci...

Edwardian diamond three stone ring. Set centrally with a round old cut diamond, H colour, VS1 clarity, with a weight of 1.04 carats in an open back claw setting, flanked by two round...

Emerald and diamond crossover ballerina ring, circa 1950. A platinum and iridium ring diagonally set with one rectangular emerald-cut Colombian emerald in a claw setting with an appr...

Art Deco diamond double clip brooch. Each set with one marquise shape old cut diamond in an open back rubover setting, two in tot...

Boucheron sapphire and diamond cluster ring. Set to centre with a round old cut natural unenhanced Ceylon sapphire in a open back rubover setting with an approximate weight of 2.50 c...

Fancy intense yellow diamond flanked solitaire ring. Set to centre with a cushion shape old mine natural fancy intense yellow diamond, SI1 clarity, with a weight of 2.39 carats, in a...

Aquamarine, diamond and synthetic ruby cocktail ring, circa 1945. A yellow gold ring set with one central octagonal emerald-cut aquamarine...

Art Deco Colombian emerald and diamond ring. Set to centre with a single octagonal emerald-cut Colombian emerald with minor clarity enhancement in an open back claw setting with an a...

Post Medieval posy ring 'Live in love and love in god *'. A smoothly conforming posy ring, engraved to the interior 'Live in love and love in god *' approximately 5.9mm in width. Tes...

Victorian natural pearl and diamond cluster earrings. A matching pair, set to centre with a round natural saltwater pearl in a half-drilled open back setting, two in total, approxima...

Pearl and black enamel memorial ring. Set to centre with an oblong crystal slice covering plaited hair in a closed back setting, encircled by a row of twelve natural half seed pearls...

Moonstone, diamond and ruby cabochon brooch by Carlo & Arthur Giuliano, circa 1890. Four large drop shaped moonstone cabochons with an approximate...

Post Medieval gold puzzle ring. A gold puzzle ring consisting of three interlinked hooped sections featuring a twist to top, the three sections can be...

Vintage fancy colour diamond cluster ring. Set to centre with a round old cut natural unenhanced fancy deep yellow brown diamond, SI2 clarity, in an open...

Colombian emerald and diamond earrings. A matching pair, each centrally set with an octagonal emerald-cut natural Colombian emerald with insignificant indications of clarity enhancem...

Star ruby carved emerald and diamond ring. Set with a natural unenhanced oval cabochon star ruby displaying strong asterism with an app...

Yellow Ceylon sapphire three stone ring. Set with three octagonal emerald-cut natural unenhanced yellow Ceylon sapphires in open back ...

Cartier diamond crossover ring. Set with two drop shape brilliant cut diamonds, one D colour, VVS2 clarity, with a weight of 1.17 carats...

A yellow gold and platinum necklace composed of a horizontal openwork oval pendant with a central urn decorated in stripes of green plique-a-jour enamel and bordered with single rows...

Cartier diamond flank solitaire ring. Set to centre with a rectangular step-cut diamond in an open back claw setting, with an approximate weight of 0.95 carats, flanked by two rectan...

Ancient Roman Hippocampus intaglio ring. Set with an oval nicolo onyx intaglio depicting a hippocampus facing left, in a closed back roman-set setting, flanked by broad integrated sh...

Chaumet Burmese ruby and diamond cluster ring. Set with six oval old cut natural unenhanced Burmese rubies in open back claw settin...

Drop shape old mine diamond earrings. A matching pair, set with a drop shape old mine diamond in an open back claw setting, two in total, one D colour, SI1 clarity with a weight of 1...

Viking gold stamped ring. A large yellow gold ring featuring a curved bombe' shaped plaque, with raised linear detail to the centre and decorated with a series of repeated triangular...

Art Deco cushion shape old mine diamond ring. Set to centre with a cushion shape old mine diamond, J colour, VVS2 clarity, with a weight of 3.24 carats in an open back rubover settin...

Natural lavender jade bead necklace with diamond set clasp, circa 1950. A necklace composed of thirty three untreated lavender jade spheric...

Sapphire and diamond cluster ring. Set to centre with a cushion shape old mine diamond in a open back rubover setting with an approximate weight of 2.05 carats, surrounded by forty s...

Diamond line bracelet. Set with forty one square step-cut diamonds in open back half rubover settings with a combined approximate weight of 16.40 carats, to a striking articulated li...

Late Medieval iconographic ring depicting the Holy Trinity. A yellow gold ring featuring a central rectangular plaque, finely engraved with the figur...

Byzantine betrothal ring, 7th-8th century AD. A yellow gold ring with square plaque-form bezel engraved with two crowned full-length figures ...

Burmese sapphire and diamond cluster ring. Set to centre with an oval old cut natural unenhanced Burmese sapphire in an open back claw and rubover setting with a weight of 2.64 carat...

Old cut diamond flanked solitaire ring. Set to centre with a round old cut diamond, G colour, SI1 clarity, with a weight of 2.24 carats, in an open back claw setting, flanked by six ...

Georgian 'urn' blue enamel mourning ring. Set centrally with a crystal covered rounded marquise shape plaque in a closed back rubover setting, enc...

Van Cleef & Arpels gold bracelet. A yellow gold articulated bracelet comprised of sixteen sections of seven rows of horizontal tubular woven links interspersed with a vertical yellow...

Art Deco flanked solitaire diamond ring. Set to centre with a single rectangular emerald-cut diamond, H colour, VVS1 clarity with an approximate weig...

Victorian micro mosaic pendant. Set to centre with a circular panel of fine micro mosaic depicting a floral arrangement, further set to ...

Georgian hair, diamond and pearl mourning ring. Set with twenty eight round rose cut diamonds in closed back grain settings with a combined approximate w...

Diamond floral spray brooch. Set with one drop shape old mine diamond in an open back cutdown setting with a weight of 1.80 carats, and fif...

Art Deco sapphire and diamond ring by Oscar Heyman Brothers. Set to centre with three square step cut natural unenhanced Ceyl...

Ruby and diamond brooch. Set to centre with thirty four square baguette cut natural unenhanced rubies in open back channel settings with a combined approximate weight of 3.40 carats,...

A yellow gold ring with heavy asymmetrical bezel composed of a drop shaped cluster of nineteen carved oval sapphires in claw settings with an approximate total weight of 20.00 carats...

Antique shell cameo brooch and earrings by John Brogden, English, circa 1870. A yellow gold suite of jewellery, the brooch composed of a horizontally situated oval Bull’s Mouth shell cameo of the Greek goddess Selene riding a serpentine dragon in a rubover collet setting, encircled by a conforming frame of gold beading and twisted gold wire punctuated with four gold palmette form plaques engraved and decorated with dark blue enamel and placed at the cardinal points, the reverse mounted with a hinged pin and scroll clasp, the earrings each composed of a vertical oval Bull’s Mouth shell cameo engraved with a bust length portrait of Selene with crescent-set headdress, encircled by a conforming frame matching that of the brooch with the addition of a pendant decoration composed of a horizontal bar of gold beading and twisted gold wires suspending gold link chains graduated from centre and ending in conical gold elements, the reverses mounted with French wire fittings, all in a fitted red leather case, the interior marked ‘FIRST CLASS PARIS MEDAL/ 1855.1867.1851/ PARIS FIRST CLASS & LONDON PRIZE MEDALS/ JOHN BROGDON/ Goldsmith/ MANUFACTORY/ 16, Henrietta St. Covent Garden/ London’. The cameo—defined as a gem, usually either a mineral or a shell, upon which a design has been carved in relief—is believed to have originated in Hellenistic Greece, during the third century BC. These miniature sculptures, at that time confined to the medium of hardstone, are thought to have been made with the primary purpose of personal adornment. The same practice of mounting cameos in jewellery was then continued by the Ancient Romans, and they are known to have been worn by many a Roman emperor. After the fall of Rome the fashion for cameos went into a decline, until it was again revived during the Renaissance period, brought about by a keen interest in the ancient world. At this time both antique and contemporary cameos were mounted in jewellery, as well as collected as objet d’art. The art of cameo cutting was revived in Italy, where it would remain a centre for the coming centuries. Again there was a lull in interest in carved gemstones, until the Neoclassical revival of the eighteenth century, largely stimulated by the discoveries of the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. As with the Renaissance, antique specimens were generally prized over modern cameos, and the worldliest men in Europe held them among their collections of art and antiques. That said, carving centres in Rome and Torre del Greco (near Naples) in Italy were established in response to the demand of the Grand Tourists, who travelled to Italy and Greece to become educated in the wonders of the ancient world. It was at this time that shell cameos, mostly made in Torre del Greco due to its proximity to the sea, became more popular, owing to the relative ease in carving shell over hardstone. In addition to Rome, hardstone cameos also became a specialty of Idar Oberstein, Germany, which had a long history with both the gem mining and cutting trade. In a shift away from the collector’s cases of the previous century, the nineteenth century saw a strengthening in the fashion for wearable cameos. After the Empress Josephine donned a cameo-set suite of jewellery at the coronation of Napoleon in 1804, cameo jewellery became all the rage. Napoleon played a further hand in promoting the art by establishing a gemstone carving school in Paris, inspired by his appreciation for the arts of the ancient world. By the mid-nineteenth century shell cameos, in part due to their lightness compared with hardstone cameos, were the height of fashion. Large shell cameos as well as hardstone cameos were set into contemporary mounts, often as suites of jewellery. Some of the best cameos of the nineteenth century—carved by a select group of recognized carvers—were set into revivalist mounts, corresponding to the subject matter. In Victorian England cameo jewellery was particularly prized, due in part to the fact that the Queen owned and wore a number of cameo jewels. One example which can often be seen in official portraits is the Badge of the Order of Victoria and Albert, carved by Tommaso Saulini of Rome, who also produced cameos for the maker of the present suite, John Brogden. To meet demand some carvers set themselves up in London, including William Schmidt, a German carver from Idar Oberstein, who produced cameos for top London jewellers, including Brogden, Carlo Giuliano and Child & Child. In fact, Schmidt purports to have been the first to carve cameos out of opal, which Brogden reportedly displayed in the Paris Exhibition of 1878. An extant example, now in the collection of the British Museum, was set by the Giuliano firm. Regarding subject matter, cameos throughout time have been largely figural, from bust length profile portraits to scenes with multiple full-length figures, and sometimes animals. Ancient Greek and Roman cameos often depicted mythological scenes as well as contemporary figures. During the Renaissance, mythological scenes were popular, often taken directly from ancient sculpture, as well as portraits of notable contemporary figures. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, due to the revivalist styles, both Renaissance and Classical subjects were copied and set into matching (and sometimes unmatching) revivalist mounts. From the Renaissance through the Victorian era, being able to recognize the source of the carving in a cameo was a mark of erudition, revealing in the wearer knowledge of Classical art. As mentioned, the present cameo parure...

Emerald and diamond cocktail ring by J. E. Caldwell, American, circa 1940. A platinum ring diagonally set with one central marquise shaped old cut untreated Muzo emerald in a claw se...

Victorian diamond and enamel snake pendant. Set to centre with a cushion shape old mine diamond in an open back cut-down setting with an approximate weight of 2.20 carats, further se...