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CatEyeMoonstones Antique PinkTranslucentBallCut 14MM Sterling LeverClip Earrings

$4,095
£3,094.58
€3,622.80
CA$5,718.56
A$6,433.91
CHF 3,408.94
MX$79,450.65
NOK 41,789.94
SEK 40,154.37
DKK 27,023.90
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About the Item

Rare wide cat's-eye, translucent, blue-tone strong pink, near-spherical, 14mm moonstones with misty lavender-white schiller are showcased on these antique sterling-silver hinged-clip lever earrings from the early 20th Century. They could be mistaken for exceptional Quahog pearls with porcelaneous luster--until a new angle of light shifts their adularescence. Bright, billowy and unusually-shaped ones like these with art-glass qualities were in demand in the early-20th Century after Tiffany & Co's first design director Louis Comfort Tiffany, who was also a glass-medium artist, debuted his Art Nouveau jewelry designs featuring moonstones at major design exhibitions around the world. Aside from the atypical color and lack of distracting inclusions like specs or flakes, these earrings are exceptional for such large nearly-ball-cut moonstones without damage. Most moonstones were cut as shallow cabochons to minimize abrasions, and even then rarely used in rings or bracelets where damage is more likely to occur. It required incredible lapidary skills to sculpt these luminous pink bulbous cabochons so that they appear to nearly match. Fittingly, they are simply set like South Sea pearls so that their inner sheen can be appreciated from many points of view. In natural light, these moonstones have inner lavender shadows, while they appear pink with silvery-white flash like a cat's eye in incandescent light.
  • Metal:
  • Stone:
  • Stone Cut:
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 0.48 in (12 mm)Width: 0.56 in (14 mm)Diameter: 0.56 in (14 mm)
  • Style:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1900-1914
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Chicago, IL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU3244219431812

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