Victorian Opal Pendant with Diamonds

This large Retro-era (circa 1940s) boulder opal and 14K yellow and white gold pendant was entirely hand crafted by a master jeweler to suggest an acorn and is a one-of-a-kind treasur...

This delightful and one-of-a-kind pendant is rather like a tassel made of 18K white gold and imperial jade; the elongated free-form cabochons of glassy green jade dangle freely, as d...

A spectacular antique fan motif brooch with 16 extraordinary pear shape cabochon cut Opals, 23 stunning Pink Sapphires, and 88 sparkling Rose Cut Diamonds. The Opals are just out of this world. It is extremely rare to find antique jewels with opals of this quality and size and in such superb condition. The Opals are cut in stunning pear shape cabochons, which are masterpieces of gem cutting in themselves. The largest opal is 7/8 inch (21mm) long. These opals shimmer with blue, green, red, orange, and yellow luminescence. The wonderful antique Pink Sapphires...

18ct gold & silver set Art Nouveau Diamond Opal Pendant/Brooch dated circa 1900 Five round opals with an articulated pear shaped opal drop, very well matched with lively play of colours and iridescence in reds, greens, blues and gold. Set in 18 carat yellow gold claw collets Two main transitional cut (old mine) diamonds 0.70ct. Mix of old mine and rose cut diamonds in an 18 carat yellow gold with “silver Set” channel setting , approx 1 ct total. G/H/I, VS2-SI2. Total diamond weight: approx 1.7carats Setting diamonds in gold with a thin layer of silver, “silver set”, was a technique used in the Georgian/Victorian/Art Nouveau period as white coloured gold and platinum were not yet available. A very thin layer of silver was applied to the gold, on which the diamonds were set, to show them off to their best advantage (as the yellow would reflect and distort the white colour of the diamonds). The Art Nouveau period was a short lived but worldwide movement which reached its peak at the end of the 19th Century and the first decade of the 20th Century. It had its roots in the Pre Raphaelite and Arts and Crafts movements in Britain in the 1860’s. Artists, such as William Morris, took their inspiration from the flora and fauna of nature and rejected the mass industrialisation and mechanisation of the Victorian age. Art Nouveau continued with this theme and has a distinctive appearance with soft, curved shapes and lines and often depicted natural designs such as flowers, birds and the female form. Before the Art Nouveau period, the emphasis had been to design pieces with an emphasis on gem stones, diamonds, rubies emeralds etc. However, during the Art Nouveau period, jewellers adopted the idea of using other semi–precious stones “from nature” such as agate, garnet opal, moonstone, aquamarine and experimented with a wide variety of new techniques e.g. enamelling. The “New Art” style became a worldwide movement encompassing all disciplines of the arts, and world class artists as far afield as Gaudi with his “modernisme” architecture in Spain, Louis Comfort Tiffany in New York with objects, Galle Glass in France and the Liberty & Co Archibald Knox designs in Britain, Jugendstil in Northern Europe and Faberge in Russia. The movement flared brightly but briefly and by 1910 it was already going out of style to be replaced by Art Deco. In fitted period box. Detachable 18ct brooch...