Berganza Brooches

Art Deco sapphire and diamond double clip brooch. Each set with one drop shape old cut natural unenhanced sapphire in an open back claw setting, two in total with a combined approxim...

Plojoux diamond enamel portrait pendant/brooch. Set throughout the brooch with sixteen round mixed old cut diamonds in open back grain and rubover settings with a total approximate w...

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

Victorian amethyst and citrine brooch. Set to centre with one round old cut citrine in an open back claw setting with an approximate weight of 60 carats, encircled by four round old ...

Victorian tortoise beetle brooch. Set horizontally with three iridescent Brazilian tortoise leaf beetles graduating in size from the centre in closed back claw settings, to a novelty...

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,...

Georgian miniature and diamond brooch. Set with a fine picture of a young country girl with a boy in a closed back rubover setting, bordered by a single row of cushion shape rose cut...

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

Victorian hardstone cameo brooch. Set with an oval cameo in hardstone depicting the profile of a woman in the classical style, featuring a decorative engraved border and fitted to re...

Pearl and enamel brooch by Carlo and Arthur Giuliano. Set with ten round natural pearls in closed back rubover settings, to an elegant openwork floral spray shape cluster with very f...

Rare amethyst, emerald and pearl brooch by Carlo Giuliano. Centrally set with an oval rose cut natural unenhanced amethyst in a closed back ru...

Antique enamel bug brooch. Set to centre with five round rose cut diamonds in closed back grain settings with an approximate combined weight of 0.05 carats,...

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...

Hardstone cameo brooch. Set with a carved hardstone cameo to centre of a bust of a lady in profile within a yellow gold ornate horizontal form, with gold wirework, floral beading and...

Georgian pearl hair brooch with locket back opening. Traditional mourning jewellery with locket of hair, circa 1770.

Victorian citrine and gold brooch. Set with two matching round old cut natural unenhanced Madeira citrines in closed back rubover set...

André Vassort gold horse brooch. A yellow gold brooch in the form of a horse and rider featuring intricate openwork with carved details and polished edging, the reverse mounted with ...

Victorian diamond pendant/brooch. Centrally set with a cushion shape old mine diamond in an open back cut-down setting with an approximate we...

Maison Plisson et Hartz chimera brooch. A circular yellow gold brooch, composed of an intricately carved crouching chimera with teeth bared and wings unfurled, encircled by a swirl o...

Georgian ruby and emerald mandolin brooch/pendant locket. A yellow, rose and green gold brooch/pendant in the form of a mandolin, a symbol of harmony i...

Art deco diamond brooch. Set to centre with one round old cut diamond in an open back rubover setting with an approximate weight of 0.85 carats, surrounded by 45 round old cut diamon...

Cartier emerald and diamond fox brooch. Set with two oval cabochon natural emeralds in open back rubover settings with a combined approximate weight of 0.35...

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

Victorian Burmese ruby and diamond crescent brooch. Set with eleven cushion shape old cut natural unenhanced Burmese rubies in open ba...

Victorian diamond and enamel tiger brooch. Set to centre with a round old cut diamond in a closed back claw setting, with an approximate weight of 0.20 carats, further set with two r...

Parthian gold dress pins. A matching pair of dress pins, each composed of a solid tapering pin with linear ridges to top, terminating in a discoid with engr...

Art deco amethyst and reconstituted turquoise brooch by Cartier. Set to centre with an oval old cut natural amethyst in an open back structured claw setting with an approximate weigh...

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...

Art Deco onyx, diamond and emerald cabochon brooch. Set with one hundred and six round old cut diamonds with an approximate total weight of 10....

Dog brooch set with lapis, coral and onyx by Mauboussin Paris, Numbered 2342. Ornately carved brooch, set with onyx nose, lapis eyes and coral ears and tongue. Mounted and set in yel...

Georgian diamond brooch/pendant. Centrally set with one cushion shape old mine diamond in a closed back cutdown setting with a weight of 1.10 ca...

Victorian natural pearl suite. A natural pearl suite comprising a pendant/brooch and earrings, the circular bombé brooch/pendant set with graduating round ...

Art Deco diamond pin. Centrally set with a drop shape old cut diamond in an open back millegrain setting with a weight of 0.70 carats, surrounded ...

Cartier antique diamond bow brooch. Set to centre with a cushion shape old mine diamond in an open back millegrain setting with a weight of ...

Vintage ruby and diamond bow brooch. Centrally set with twelve rectangular baguette cut diamonds in open back channel settings with a combi...

Antique diamond wing brooch, attributed to Carlo and Arthur Giuliano, circa 1900. A gold and silver brooch in the form of a pair of outstretched wings, the wings with one hundred and sixteen pavé set round old cut diamonds with an approximate total weight of 5.80 carats, and additionally set with two old cut drop shaped diamonds set to top and bottom of the centrepiece with an approximate total weight of 2.05 carats. Originally part of a hair ornament. In a fitted Wartski box, authentication courtesy of Wartski. This brooch appears in 'Pre-Raphaelite to Arts and Crafts Jewellery', by Charlotte Gere and Geoffrey Munn, p. 12. Please note shipping to the United States of America requires the purchaser to fill out a CBP 5106 customs form before the item is shipped. This form is a legal requirement for any item over $2,000 which is being imported into the United States. One of the details the form requests is the purchaser’s social security number or importer’s number. One of the most collectable makers of antique jewellery is the London house of Giuliano, founded by the Neapolitan-born Carlo Giuliano, and succeeded by his sons Carlo and Arthur Alphonse. Though unmarked, this piece is likely to have once been a part of a tiara or hair ornament made by Giuliano due to its similarity to other signed pieces by the firm. There are five known pieces, in addition to the present jewel, by Giuliano which are comprised of a pair of diamond set wings with a larger stone or stones placed at centre. All five—a convertible hair ornament/brooch, a tiara, and three brooches—appeared in Wartski’s 1989 exhibition Artists’ Jewellery: Pre-Raphaelite to Arts and Crafts, and additionally two of these five are featured in the book of the same title by Charlotte Gere and Geoffrey Munn. The present piece is most similar to the diamond hair ornament...

Edwardian natural pearl and diamond pendant/brooch. An impressive convertible pendant/brooch, set to either side with two natural saltwater pearls and suspending four additional natu...

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...

A pair of Victorian gem set butterfly brooches. A pair of brooches, set to the bodies with a cushion shape old mine natural unenhanced fancy colour pink...

Sapphire and diamond bow brooch by Marcus & Co, American, circa 1935. A yellow gold and platinum bow form brooch set with one central row of twenty eig...

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...

Cartier sapphire and diamond jabot pin. Set with two oval cabochon natural unenhanced sapphires in open back rubover settings with a combined approxi...

Star sapphire, sapphire and diamond pin. Set with an oval cabochon natural unenhanced star sapphire displaying asterism with an approximate weight of 18.00 carats, to a scalloped col...

Georgian diamond brooch. Set with one hundred and ten rose and table cut diamonds of varying shapes and sizes, in closed back cut down settings ...

Enamel and gold brooch by Maison Vever Paris, French, circa 1900. An 18 carat yellow gold brooch in the form of a circular shallow concave disk decorated with a poppy, a daisy and a ...

Pendant brooch by Child & Child. A pendant/brooch in three detachable sections, the uppermost composed of an elongated octagon with inward bowed sides set with one central diamond in a collet setting with a weight of 2.50 carats, flanked by trefoil forms set with six diamonds in bead settings with a combined weight of 1.20 carats, on a ground of pierced millegrain vertical bars, and encircled by a single scalloped border of twenty six diamonds in bead settings with a combined weight of 13.00 carats; the middle section composed of one central diamond in a collet setting with a weight of 1.20 carats, on a ground of pierced millegrain horizontal bars, and encircled by a stylized laurel wreath set with eighteen diamonds in bead settings with a combined weight of 2.16 carats, surmounted with two diamonds in collet settings with a combined weight of 0.15 carats, and encircled by a further five diamonds in collet settings with a combined weight of 1.50 carats; the bottom section in the same format and settings as the middle with one central diamond at a weight of 0.45 carats, eighteen diamonds weighing 0.90 total carats, two diamonds at 0.10 total carats, and five diamonds at 0.50 total carats, and also with a lower pendant composed of one diamond in a collet setting with a weight of 0.40 carats, above a bell form set with two diamonds in bead settings with a combined weight of 0.60 carats and with three diamonds in bead settings with a combined weight of 0.15 carats, above two more articulated links one composed of a diamond in a collet setting with a weight of 0.25 carats, above one mounted in the same fashion with a weight of 0.15 carats, all above an inverted tear shape link set with two rose cut diamonds in bead settings with a combined weight of 0.03 carats; all set with cushion shape old cut diamonds unless specified, millegrained throughout, and with a grand total of ninety three cushion shape old cut diamonds with an approximate total weight of 25.20 carats, and two round rose cut diamonds with an approximate total weight of 0.03 carats. The upper section is set to reverse with an entirely removable brooch bar with secure C spring clasp, and further set with two loops for a necklace to be attached. Each of the three sections are set with thread bars to attach or remove accordingly, with two threads set to the upper to form a choice of brooch or pendant as desired. Tested platinum, with makers mark for Child and...