Art Deco Platinum Diamond Emerald Foliate Brooch

About the Item

So elegant, this incredibly fiery old cut diamond and emerald brooch dates to the late 20’s to 1930’s Art Deco period Fabulous as a brooch, it would also be wonderful converted into a necklace. Crafted of platinum with a 14K white gold pin stem & clasp, the piece features a total of 44 old cut diamonds and 9 emeralds, set into an elegant foliate - floral design with crisp milgrain edging and filigree flower blossoms. The total estimated carat weight is just under 2 carats. From an old estate, this piece came to me in a box hand labeled "5th Anniversary Pin." (please note that dark areas in my photos are just reflections) Twenty four fiery Old European cut diamonds are set around the border of the brooch. With chunky old cuts, open culets and all the fire I love to find in antique diamonds, they range in size depending upon where they sit in the design, ranging from approximately 2.9 mm in diameter for the larger stones to approximately 2 mm for the smaller diamonds. Extremely bright and fiery, I would judge these beautiful old diamonds to be in the H-I range of near-colorless. Completely eye-clean to me, I see a few small inclusions under magnification in some stones, that I would put in the SI range of clarity. Set at intervals along the top border, where the larger diamonds are set, are pretty filigree flowers also with crisp milgrain details. Curving gently from the left side of the piece, a row of step cut emeralds is channel set like a stem, with a larger Old European cut diamond set as a flower, and 19 small old chunky Swiss/single cut diamonds set in the leaves and bow or petals, with one additional diamond set as if its holding the spray or bouquet of flowers together. The beautiful classic emerald color pops against the bright white sparkle of the diamonds. Measuring approximately 3.8 mm in diameter, the very sparkly bezel set Old European cut diamond is estimated to be approximately .20 to .22 carats, or so, with matching H-I color and SI2 clarity; lovely milgrain edges the bezel setting. The small diamonds range in size from approximately 1.6 to 1 mm in diameter, with matching color and clarity in the VS to SI range. Again, lovely milgrain decorates the edges of the design. With gorgeous, lush green color ranging from a lighter to medium green, the rectangular step cut emeralds show some old wear and damage, but still still look beautiful, creating just the right amount of "pop" against the bright white sparkle of the diamonds. The brooch measures approximately 1 and 1/2 inches x 7/8 of an inch in size (38.5 x 21.2 mm) On the reverse is the pin stem with small locking clasp that works well. (it looks to have a yellow tint in some of my photos, but it's definitely a white gold color) I haven’t found any hallmarks on the brooch, but have tested the metals in various places to confirm purity. The finished weight of the brooch is a very nice 6.30 grams on my scale. Gorgeous as a brooch worn on a dress, jacket or sweater, I also think this piece would make a stunning necklace by adding a platinum chain, with the diamond and emerald brooch affixed at the center (with the pin stem and clasp removed).

Metal:

White Gold,Platinum

Stone:

Diamond,Emerald

Stone Cut:

Old European Cut

Weight:

6.3 g

Dimensions:

Height: 0.88 in (22.36 mm)Width: 1.5 in (38.1 mm)

Style:

Art Deco

Place of Origin:

United States

Period:

20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

circa 1930s

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. There is wear to many of the emeralds, including a couple that have cracks, but are still held within their channel setting. A few others have small chips/losses seen with magnification.

Seller Location:

Danvers, MA

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU3614219693692

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