Antique early 20th century silver and paste lizard salamander brooch

An early 20th century Egyptian Revival gold brooch, depicting a vulture centred with a faïence scarab, clutching lotus pods and surmounted with a cabochon ruby, polychrome enamel decoration overall and engraved to reverse, 3.5cm wide. One arrow missing. Revival is always happening in the jewelry world. The Indiana Jones inside all of us is always enticed by the buried loot of the ancients. It’s one of the reasons Egyptian Revival jewelry is so alluring. Luckily for jewelry connoisseurs the span of history that have laid way to an aesthetic resurgence and intense interest in all things Egyptian during the last two hundred years. Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign in 1798 ignited the West’s fascination with motifs we have all come to associate with Egyptian Revival—sphinxes, pyramids, palmettes, papyrus leaves. This curiosity was further stimulated by the excitement surrounding the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, after 10 years of construction, arousing a real revival of the Egyptian style, with jewelers specifically incorporating artifacts that were thousands of years old, faience in the shapes of falcons and scarabs, set into jewels framed by vermilion enamel and lapis lazuli. Some of the highlights in the 19th century timeline of Egyptomania include the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, displays at World’s Fairs and the moment when Cleopatra’s Needle...

42 beautiful, gently graduated, multi-chromatic opal beads imbued with lightening flashes, alternate with small even sized pearls to create this enchanting necklace. The beads are ra...

When the line between want and need becomes quite blurry. A 19th century 18 karat rose brooch set with an approx. 5ct blue zircon surrounded by 269 antique, old, table and rose cut ...

Cut steel jewelry was at the height of fashion from the mid 1700s well into the 19th century. Originated in the 1700s. Popular from the Georgian through the Victorian eras. To make cut steel, melted horseshoe nails were formed into tiny faceted beads. Those small steel gemstone-like studs were then riveted one-by-one onto a base plate. It was an English invention that quickly travelled throughout the world. Each stud could have up to 15 facets, and in general the finer and older the piece the more facets the studs will have. Improvements in candles meant that grand events and entertaining could take place at night. As diamonds are diamonds and not available for everyone, and everyone wanted to shine, the popularity grew. Cut-steel provided a stylish and popular new jewelry material that could be enjoyed by everyone at all levels of society. It grew beyond a simple imitation to an art in its own right. The manufacturing was complex and the workmanship that was required highly skilled. These were not mass produced objects. The studs were made from decarbonated cast steel, which was case-hardened, then the studs were faceted by cutting against a pewter wheel. Next were then polished with first fine emery and a hard brush, and then by hand with a special putty. Finally they were riveted onto pierced base plates which had to be drilled and cut by hand, too. The main place of cut steel production was Birmingham, England. And there, one manufacturer stood out from all the rest: Matthew Boulton. He had been born in 1728 into the industry — his father manufactured small metal products. But the younger Boulton had a special talent for marrying the latest technology with the latest fashion. He also was continually expanding — he even founded a mint. He wined and dined with dignitaries and advocated for his steel products. Fortuitously, he became quite close with the Russian ambassador to Catherine the Great. When the ambassador toured the mint, Boulton made sure to send the Empress some of his cut-steel necklaces. In 1759, Louis XV “encouraged” the nobility to donate their gold and gemstone jewelry to help fund the Seven Years War. The popularity of cut steel in France may in part have been due to these sumptuary laws which limited who could wear precious metals and diamonds. Either you complied with the law and gave up your family jewels to be melted down for the war chest...

his unusual and lovely victorian set of faceted rock crystals and carved smoky quartz was made in the second half of the 19th century. Natural rock crystals are saluted for its way of bending the light into a “pool” of light around the wearer. They are absolutely magical and look fabulous when worn. Rock crystal is the clear transparent variety of quartz (silicon dioxide) and has a MOHS hardness rating of 7. This makes them harder than, say, opal but softer than emerald (7.5) and topaz (8). Featuring two genuine rock crystal briolettes. The beautiful briolettes are pear shaped and faceted. They sparkle beautifully. Truly special heirloom earrings...

A pair of pastel-colored, round cabochon opals are flanked by shimmering rose-cut diamonds, set in darkened silver over 18kt. gold, in these charming and lively ear poppers. The ea...

Charming paste set and marcasite salamander brooch set in sterling circa 1930s. Emerald pastes set to replicate demantoid garnets.
2.75" x 1"<...

An early twentieth century diamond, enamel and crystal wasp brooch, the black and yellow enamel body with rose-cut diamond-set head, the frosted rock cryst...

Cameos are true pieces of artistic portraiture often depicting old world ethereal beauty and providing nostalgic charm to modern wardrobes. This early 1900's carved shell cameo depi...

This lovely brooch is modelled in silver and is set with paste. Paste was used to mimic the look of diamonds and these do just that. The paste are so sparkly and complimented by the ...

This is a wonderful antique Victorian - Belle Epoque Lizard, Salamander, Chameleon Brooch Pin set throughout with Rose Cut Diamonds in a gorgeous three dimensional design in Silver a...

Set of four silver brooches representing salamanders. Mid-20th century. Lengths from 5.30 centimeters to 7.50 centimeters. Gross weight: 28.83 grams.