Berkshires - Jewelry & Watches

This antique amuletic bronze-framed pendant cages a dozen 7mm-diameter single-cut rock crystals that each feature a table-cut decagon crown, deep pavilion, 21 facets and uncut girdle, while the culets range from off-center to blunted. They are tightly set within four linked rings to overlap at the same angle in a sparkling row. Seeming to retain a little of its original yellow-gold gilding on just the interior, the frame that surrounds each of the four sections of three crystals enables them to reflect pale yellow and lime light when the pendant is viewed from certain angles. Each crystal can be manually rotated. Suggesting French heritage, the medieval Frankish culture in northern France made jewelry in similar segmented or open-work shapes of wheels or whorls, which were worn as gem-decorated disk-shaped brooches or gold caged rock...

Epitomizing the Art Nouveau movement, this antique post-1912 sautoir drop necklace with a white-gold openwork-and-wire pendant and filigree clasp features a rainbow of handcrafted gem beads--the largest of which are carved "Rose of France" and purple amethysts plus faceted-pink and beveled-aqua tourmalines--along with what appears to be lampwork glass...

This Art Deco period French carved, lathe-worked, sculpted and red-painted black-galalith figural brooch depicts a pair of long-limbed dogs, which may be gazelle hounds, wolfhounds, ...

Encrusted with enameled turbo shells shaped like miniature mollusks and mixed with iridescent crystals, this elaborately ornamented and intricately textured unsigned pair of starfish...

This couture Maison Martin Margiela Artisanal "Line 0" 1990s miniature-belt silver-plated buckled and riveted vegetable-tanned chocolate leather bracelet or anklet, whose harness-style firm strap mimics a fine-jewelry coiled metal rope chain, was hand moulded into a fixed shape from a remodeled strap from an eariler Margiela collection or used accessory. Notably, silver-frame buckles and riveted unstitched leather straps were among the founder's most repeated design elements for accessories at the Maison since his first fashion show in 1989 (see our snaps of early Look-ensemble recreations that he handmade in miniature on dolls, or the largest buckled leather belt that he designed), as well as during his tenure directing luxury womenswear at Hermes (1997-2003) when he created the iconic "Double Tour" wrap-around strap buckle-framed watch. Regarding the significance of the bare leather that he used in our piece and later for some ready-to-wear at Hermes, Margiela was quoted (translated from French): "My favorite (Hermes) watch was the Cape Cod designed...

These pink conch 14mm near-round natural pearl stud earrings, with early 20th-Century clips stamped "sterling", each weigh 3 grams including mountings for an exceptional 10-plus cara...

Trimmed with 40 diamond-like crystals and marked "deposee" for its uniqueness on the clasp like antique European couture jewelry, this Art-Deco period Swiss Bucherer lady's dress wat...

During the Art Nouveau period while German-born Vienna-based silversmith, niello master and entrepreneur Georg Adam Scheid (1837-1921) was prospering from a related refinery business...

French Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel commissioned Parisian Maison Gripoix in the late 1930s to fabricate this elegant handmade drop-chain choker necklace for one of her couture clients. In...

Signed "Made in France", this Parisian couture poured glass and lampworked flower-like spray brooch has its artisan-wired construction concealed by a decorative gilt filigree scallop...

Stamped "Made In France" on antique brass back-plates like the initial unbranded couture costume-jewelry since 1924 commissioned by French Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel for her foreign-cli...

Unusual vintage necklace composed of a chain caught with a pearl at the hollow of the neck before it continues to down to a pierced medallion ...

Featuring a relatively heavy fringe of dangling Russian-gilt brass bars and contrasting French-blue textural hand-pressed glass beads topped with filigree caps to resemble flower bud...

Signed "Trifari" with a crown and without a post-1955 U.S. copyright symbol on all three matching pieces, this likely late 1930s highly-textured yellow-gold-plated demi-parure was designed by American Trifari's French-born head designer Alfred Philippe after he had honed his fine-jewelry craftsmanship while creating luxury parures for Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. The set features a heavy tasseled eight-strand chain sautoir necklace and earrings with dropped fluted-ball pendants, With French-style signed clip fastening, the contrasting-texture two-inch-long earrings each have two twisted fluted round beads in different sizes, with the larger one capped at both ends with additional shapes and textures. On the necklace, this textural contrast is amplified with the inclusion of many chains. The decorative chain caps and...

Like the initial unbranded couture costume-jewelry commissioned by French Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel for her foreign-client ensembles, "Made In France" was stamped on these one-of-a-kin...

A statement necklace from 2010 by Rodrigo Otazu, known for his extravagant creations for Madonna, Lady Gaga, and for the Sex and the City cast. Fashioned from multiple layers of gold...

Influenced by the Art Nouveau illustrations of Alphonse Mucha, this signed antique French enameled glass jewelry box display case is decorated wi...

In a rare scissor cut dating to the 1500s, this centuries-old prong-set hogback rock crystal pendant produces a fascinating play of refractions in low light. With its rectangular nar...

With distinct handmade glass by French Maison Gripoix for a faux-amethyst 25mm open-back oval cabochon poured into a forged wire ring topped with a serrated-bezel setting, this is a ...

With the Coro signature "script-no-angle" since 1919 and "PAT.PEND.", this early Art Deco vermeil lady bug beetle brooch features a red enameled face and mixed-cut bezel-set red and ...

Made in 1962 by Swedish Rune Tennesmed, this modern minimal sterling-silver geometric brooch features a faux ruby poured-glass red cabochon, concave sheet metal, and openwork that forms two corners of the two-tier triangular brooch. This simple abstract design is characteristic of the rounded geometric shapes that framed his silvery pieces, while his early work sometimes included a pop of brightly colored glass. Tennesmed (1929-2011) was a 20th-century studio metalsmith, who changed his given name Carlsson to reflect his craft and his business name, which means "pewtersmith" in Swedish. This unusually elegant and sleek piece was made for Scandinavian Atelje Stigbert, which was recognized for producing modern jewelry designs in sterling silver and gold. The brooch was likely commissioned by the Stigbert workshop founder Stig Engelbert who died in 1962, before his artisan sons evolved the family business to be known as Engelbert. Recognized as one of the most significant and popular Scandinavian artists of the mid-20th century, Tennesmed revived ancient Viking...

Demonstrating the epitome of miniature decorative art by Renaissance European goldsmiths who fashioned quatrefoil and cruciform jewelry with heraldry or religious symbols, this centu...

Elsa Schiaparelli famously embraced "shocking pink" for her Surrealist-aesthetic couture clothing and handcrafted costume jewelry, which she commissioned from Parisian paruriers beginning in the late 1920s--when some of the most expensive gems were fuchsia Burmese rubies. In this Art Deco period glass-beaded sautoir tassel necklace, 37 unusual fuchsia faux-pearls are each delicately caged like hot-air balloons by seven textural strands of tiny faux-pearl-and-gold seed beads. These spherical stations are spaced by lustrous white medium-size faux pearls, ending in a four-strand seed-bead tassel that cages four of the fuchsia beads. The beads are strung on bright magenta silk cord without a clasp. Sautoirs were an essential element of flapper style since Schiaparelli's couture-mentor Paul Poiret changed the silhouette of clothing in the 1920s, while the long necklaces remained popular until wartime 1939. While competing with her fashion rival couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, Schiaparelli (1890-1973) relied on the same French artisans, Maison Gripoix and Louis Rousselet--the masters of glass faux pearls at the time. Either workshop that was established by the 1920s could have been commissioned to make the progressive hot-pink pearls for this unsigned necklace. The design of this highly-textural tricolor sautoir featuring fuchsia spheres could suit the style of one of Schiaparelli's most frequent paruriers through the 1930s, Jean Clement. Some of his relevant unsigned work for Schiaparelli is in museum collections like The Met, including highly-textural tricolor sphere-decorated buttons and brooches or a fuchsia-toned metal-rosebud bead necklace. After Schiaparelli had become associated with fuchsia, she made particularly prolific use of this bright magenta in the late 1930s. In her demi-couture collections such as "Circus" and "Comedia dell' Arte" (see our 3 photos), fuchsia jackets are adorned with similar colorful spherical glass beads among embroidered appliques and animal or clown brooches, as well as whimsical painted-ceramic buttons...

Distinguished by the tightly coiled style of Georgian-period-inspired cannetille gold wire that decorates each of the four pieces of this parure, French costume-jewelry designer Lina...

During the Art-Deco period when Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel was at her peak as a Parisian couture designer in the early 1930s and working closely with her favorite jewelry parurier Fulco di Verdura, for one of her clients, she commissioned this unique handcrafted gem-fringed medallion brooch with a yellow-gold circle rope of flexible thick chain that dangles from an unseen ornate open-work curvilinear yellow-gold base. Marked only "FRANCE" on the bar pin with a trombone clasp, like some early 1930s Chanel couture jewelry collected by TheMet museum, its artistry reflects the colorful organic-form starburst sketches of Verdura, which you can see from our photo of one of them. The Sicilian duke began creating fabric patterns for Chanel in 1927, which shortly expanded to executing fine jewelry beginning with custom pieces for the house founder. These included the iconic Byzantine-influenced gem-adorned cuffs referencing the Maltese-military cross, which the French designer can often be seen wearing in circa-1930s photos. Chanel reproduced some of Verdura's originals for her clients, but those variations featured faux gems. This softly-shaped abstract brooch design suits goldsmith Verdura's early anti-Art-Deco aesthetic that was considered a radical departure from 1920s silver-tone geometric jewelry, which otherwise featured linear designs or figurative representation. The deconstructed bouquet of gems mixes amethyst and rose-quartz beads with natural Keshi pearls and intricate tiny gold leaves, which are discreetly wired to a Baroque-motif frame that dangles a round gem surrounded by a chain halo. Significantly, Verdura was credited with re-introducing since Victorian times the rope motif to fine jewelry. Since 1930, Verdura's unique style was influenced by travels with Chanel to explore Byzantine art, Baroque architecture, and the exotic flora-and-fauna among his native Italian aristocratic estate. The legendary fashion editor Diane Vreeland and American entertainment stars were among the first Chanel clients to acquire couture real-gem-adorned jewelry made by Verdura, while one of the two brooches treasured by Vreeland was titled "Theodora". See our photo of the Byzantine mosaic of Empress Theodora, whose image--with an abundance of teardrop pearls and colorful gems above her chest, and with a gold halo surrounding her head--could have inspired the design of our brooch. As one of the most important modern-design collaborations, Chanel's close relationship with Verdura lasted largely undocumented years in Paris, until he launched his first outside jewelry venture with a Hollywood designer-boutique after emigrating to the United States in 1934. Within five years, as a financially-backed in-demand goldsmith in the States, he founded the namesake fine-jewelry company Verdura in New...

Vintage double-strand medium length pearl necklace featuring a clasp of pearls and rhinestones that can be worn at the nape of the neck or on one side. the pearls are hand knotted an...

This early 18th-Century Spanish Rococo period silver-filigree double-sided pendant with dangle features miniature colorful enamel devotional paintings on both sides of a white porcelain centerpiece, which are associated with an April birth. One side depicts a mountain landscape with a haloed richly-robed dark woman holding a lap-seated dark child and a holy orb...

This couture 1930s Chanel-commissioned French Maison Gripoix hand-crafted demi-parure features eight flower pendants whose daisy-like metalsmithed petal frames suspend transparent aq...

Wreath-shaped brooch of various pearls, rhinestones, crystals, and micro gold beads by Robert, c.1960. Hook in addition to pin, so can be worn as pendant. Some of the Original by Robert...

Beginning in 1939, American Miriam Haskell asked her first designer since 1926 Frank Hess to sparingly use metal in their costume jewelry collections during WWII while war materials ...

This antique 19th Century Italian glass choker collar features a technically masterful link design like the distinct chandelier chains hand-crafted by the Seguso family, which founded Vetri d'Arte on the Venetian island of Murano centuries ago. In the style of elegant multi-pendant festoon necklaces from the mid-1800s, it dangles three one-inch drop pendants. The reddish pink mouth-blown glass balls with golden reflections are supported by brass findings. The closed links appear to be miniature versions of the jewelry design made famous in the next century by the family's descendant Archimede Seguso (1909-1999), whom Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel worked...

Strongly resembling the Harry Bertoia Foundation's archived c.1947 unsigned small brooch (D.JE.27) that is essentially an elegant hammered silver curvilinear three-humped squiggle by...

While contracted since 1953 as an independent craftsman to create one-of-a-kind costume jewelry for French Masion De Gorce, Parisian goldsmith Robert Goosens (1927-2016) was initially commissioned there to craft for Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel unique Byzantine-style long decorative chain necklaces with sculptural gilt-metal or faux-pearl charms, which would be layered to accessorize her couture clothing for herself and clients. As the commissions from the fashion designer for his work mounted, by the following year Goosens began working directly for Chanel at a mobile workshop--continuing to create unsigned couture pieces while establishing Maison Goosens. Although Chanel began signing most of the jewelry by the late 1950s, the exception until Chanel's death was most often the long chain necklaces with simpler clasps that were among a multi-chain set designed by Goosens. Suggesting that this is the case for our unsigned gold-gilt barrel-clasped sautoir, the cast foliate prongs that cap its pendant are strikingly similar to the cast lobed-leaf prongs of the textural pair of faux-pearl button earrings and a capped-faux-pearl pendant earring that are published in a close-up photo (see our snapshot) in Jewelry By Chanel, the book written by Patrick Mauries. The caption (adjacent page 97) dates those likewise unsigned Chanel pieces to 1954-1971 when only Goosens would have executed them with his lost-wax casting. A lost-wax-cast sautoir pendant with similar foliate prongs signed Chanel with three stars (couture) was auctioned by Christie's in 2000 among "A Group of Five Gilt Metal and Simulated Gemstone Necklaces, Chanel" in which one piece of the lot was unsigned. The house noted in its catalogue that the pendant necklace had been published earlier that year in the Editions Plume book (page 28), Bijoux de Haute Couture: Collection Robert Goossens by Gilles Plazy and Chantal Bizot. Also characteristic of Robert Goosens for Chanel...

In the style of Elsa Schiaparelli couture costume jewelry and one of her paruriers beginning in the late 1930s, Jean Schlumberger, this hand-crafted highly textural glass and crystal...

This colorful prong-set crystal spray brooch by Schreiner New York was made to compliment luxury clothing by a U.S.-based fashion designer, such as Pauline Trigere, in the late 1950s. This piece is special because it shows the unique decorative technique that Schreiner used for a period of several years in reaction to the limited availability of the first aurora-borealis (AB) stones by Swarovski in 1956, which had been designed for Christian Dior. In response to the availability of only the initial AB color that mostly reflected bright blue and the high demand from other designers, Schreiner's creative family soon applied transparent glass paint to create additional colors, such as the light-green painted AB crystals on this brooch. According to Henry Schreiner's late daughter who took over the business with her jewelry-designer husband, this enabled them to become the first to produce costume jewelry with AB stones in different colors, while Swarovski took several years to introduce similar colors. All original painted AB crystals are intact in this brooch, which is significant since a lost stone...

Signed "Schiaparelli" in script, this midcentury link bracelet features a textural leaves motif characteristic of costume-jewelry by the Parisian couturier Elsa Schiaparelli. Like ma...

These antique Chinese earrings feature rare Burmese natural untreated translucent imperial green jadeite, which is intricately hand-carved and polished...

Remarkably more expressive than iconic phoenix brooches by Jean Schlumberger or Marcel Boucher, this unique Georgian-style three-dimensional bird bar brooch by an artisan silversmith...

In 1956 when Christian Dior's ultra-feminine New Look had dominated fashion for nearly a decade, Schreiner New York handcrafted these opulent unsigned earrings with 22 prong-set open-back crystals to accompany the eveningwear of an American high-end fashion designer. They may have been for client Pauline Trigere when her ready-to-wear collections with accessories including unmarked-Schreiner jewelry were sold by NYC's Bergdorf Goodman and worn by her clients including Grace Kelly, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Elizabeth Taylor. Comparatively, Schreiner jewelry produced in the 1950s for direct sale to high-end department stores, such as Neiman Marcus, Henri Bendel and Saks Fifth Avenue, were the only pieces to include a brand signature. Using the best quality European crystals that were custom-made for him, the founder Henry Schreiner was among the world's leading glass-jewelry designers before he died in 1954, whereafter his daughter and her husband continued with their handcrafted production. The family shared this distinction with Western Germany-based Max Muller and Paris-based Roger Jean Pierre, who were commissioned to create haute-couture pieces for the world's leading fashion houses. Notably in 1949, Henry Schreiner was commissioned by Dior to create several exclusive pieces. We know these earrings were not created earlier than 1956 because of the use of iridescent coating on some of the crystals that produces a rainbow effect. Known as aurora-borealis (AB) stones, Swarovski initially produced them exclusively for a haute-couture collection that year by Dior. Shortly thereafter, the Schreiner team had access to such colorful stones, and most certainly used them as soon as possible to enable their American fashion-designer clients to compete with the new Dior iridescent-colors trend. At the bottom tips of the marquise-shaped pale yellow stones...

Acquired in France and featuring French studio-artist Andree Bazot's signature technique of topping free-formed layers of polychrome enamels fused on textural foiled plaques with a d...

Featuring handmade double-spiral filigree links, this vintage collar choker necklace was created by tightly twisting fine silver wire, which was ...

Among the most in-demand designs by Trifari artistic director Alfred Philippe were his flora and "jelly belly" fauna jewelry from the 1940s. Both iconic styles can be mixed as the go...

Two years before the brand signature first appeared in 1947, Miriam Haskell's first designer Frank Hess since 1926 designed these asymmetrical Baroque-style climber earrings. To be p...

This mid-century shiny yellow-gold-plated snake-chain multi-strand necklace features a sculptural finely-textured gilt-metal bow that is positioned to rest on the upper left chest to...

Line Vautrin created "flame-radiating" resin mirrors in mid-century that are very similar to this sculptural resin edelweiss-flower set of highly-textural, hand-carved and enameled c...

Between the first ad campaign that couturier Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973) commissioned from internationally admired Paris-based multimedia artist Marcel Vertes (1895-1961) for her blockbuster perfume "Shocking" in 1937, and in 1940 when they left France after launching her perfume "Sleeping" shortly before the Nazi occupation during WWII, the illustrator-cum-ceramist distinctly handmade--while traditional materials for couture costume jewelry were scarce in Paris--this whimsical red-glazed ceramic brooch. It depicts a duck holding an umbrella dripped with dashes of turquoise and black glaze to appear wet. Significantly, the trombone clasp of the pin, the long-pronged gilt frame, and the text stamped on its back plate "Made In France" match a similarly sized glazed ceramic brooch of a decoratively chained bear that was published in the book Bijoux (page 146). The author Deanna Farenti Cera dated that likewise unbranded unsigned brooch to 1938 when it was commissioned for one of Schiaparelli's themed fashion shows "Circus". The invitation to that show, which was illustrated with circus characters and performing animals by Vertes' Parisian peer Christian Berard, included a domesticated white duck--notably not holding nor wearing a fashion accessory. Unusually, Schiaparelli had commissioned couture umbrellas from other artisans in the 1930s--a couple of which were acquired by TheMet museum. Another relevant Met acquisition of one of the designer's couture evening gowns, which it dates to Summer 1940, features three large glazed-ceramic fasteners in a contrasting color matching our brooch. The like findings, materials, construction, text, object and palette aside, accessory-adorned ducks were among the figurative animals commissioned by Schiaparelli for that last collection before the Germans dominated Paris by June 1940, which is evidenced by the photo of the dated gilt hatpin depicting a bejeweled bird head with a bill that appears in the book by Patrick Mauries about another Schiaparelli-associated French parurier Lina Baretti (pages 124-125). See our other listing for one of Baretti's uniquely feathered designs, which likewise has a pronged gilt frame with trombone clasp like ours, but whose partridge subject best suits an earlier Schiaparelli collection for Fall 1938 titled "Pagan". For us, distinguishing our brooch from other one-of-a-kind ceramic pieces created for Schiaparelli couture...

This antique French chain necklace with three-inch drop pendants features 33 natural citrines, including 16 polished teardrop and 17 faceted golden quartz beads. It was constructed b...

All featuring white cat's eyes, the 21 gray 3mm ball-cut moonstones of this necklace are beaded symmetrically on this antique choker between stations of shiny 14 karat yellow-gold fi...

Signed FRM, these handcrafted Art Deco style textural mixed-metal drop pierced earrings feature four bezel-and-prong-set faceted red garnets topping 16 hand-wired beaded thin chains....

Featuring five intricate rose-flower charms, Krementz finished this chain link bracelet with its characteristic multi-color gold gilding, which is known for being as much as 30 times thicker than the overlay of other jewelry companies as a testament to the enduring quality of its designs. The elegant textured linked shapes and flowers recall the Art- Nouveau style that distinguished the earliest designs by Krementz for women in the 1920s. The brand signature is on the fold-over clasp. As three pieces of this listing, the excellent-condition bracelet comes with its original signed green-velvet...

Henry Schreiner, the Austrian-born blacksmith founder of Schreiner New York in 1932, handcrafted this gold-gilt brass brooch with multi-color prong-set Bavarian crystal...

While making similar mid-century haute-couture costume jewelry for Christian Dior, designer Max Muller based near Kaufbeuren, Western Germany, created these dramatic clear crystal si...

Distinguishing these couture Christian Dior Spring/Summer 1956 "Western Germany"-stamped silver earrings featuring the first Swarovski gold-foi...

From the Art Deco period, this signed French couture set of yellow-gold pave-crystal brooch and earrings is marked in the manner of one-off costume jewelry commissioned...

With artistic value as a Renaissance chiaroscuro miniature painting with precious ultramarine lapis-lazuli pigment, this early 16th-Century period gilt-filigree silver pendant medall...

This couture French Maison Gripoix fabricated faux-sapphire-topped-pearl glass cluster brooch and clip-earrings set dates to around WWII, when Parisian fashion designer Elsa Schiapar...

Between 1948-1955 this early Vendome crystal set was made for a high-end line by Coro to include a three-strand tricolor beaded necklace with flowe...

Weiss rhinestone brooch, c.1960s, of square shape arranged in a square within a square, each composed of rectangular stones on all sides centering square crystals at the corners and ...

French costume-jewelry glass-master Louis Rousselet was among a handful of paruriers favored by the leading Parisian couture houses, primarily Chanel in the late 1920s. Beyond the st...

In the late 1940s for Trifari, its French-born artistic director Alfred Philippe, who had earlier designed fine jewelry for Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, created this flora-motif c...