Jewelry Lovers

Jewellery has been used for personal adornment, at least among the upper classes, for centuries. Styles and types have always gone in and out of vogue, leaving modern collectors with an enormous variety from which to choose.

The value of jewellry depends on several factors, ranging from the current fashions to the precious metals and gemstones used. Among the most important considerations are the quality of workmanship and the condition; desirable items in good condition are scarce and always worth more than average. Buyers should examine prospective purchases carefully for missing or damaged pieces of decoration. A maker’s signature increases value, as does an inscription concerning a known person or event.

Nineteenth-Century Brooches

In the early Toth century, brooches were small, delicate and often rectangular, with a pastel-coloured gem or foil-backed paste at the centre surrounded by pearls or deep floral chasing. Popular designs of the period include animal forms and comet shapes inspired by the sighting of Halley’s Comet in 1865. Today, large pieces of jewellery are more popular, and a typical Regency period brooch that would have sold for £400-£600 a few years ago will now realise only half that amount.

A vast number of styles were influenced by history, travel and the natural world. Pieces in the Etruscan style, for example, echo ancient Greek and Roman jewellery and are usually decorated with tiny applied beads and wirework. Good examples are often signed by the maker and are keenly sought after. These usually fetch more than £1500.

From about 1840, naturalistic jewellery depicted birds and animals, fruits and foliage, the most fashionable being grapes and vine leaves. With the opening up of Japan to trade with Europe from the 1860s, Japanese motifs were used — for example, bamboo-shaped borders around engraved panels of storks and grasses, or fan shapes with Oriental figures, often with different-coloured gold and silver detail. Coloured gold and silver decoration applied to a matt black metal background (shakudo) was sought after, and many original pieces were remounted by the Victorians in European jewellery. Prices exceed £300. Perhaps one of the most common 19th century brooch designs is the circular or oval shape with a locket behind its central stone to house a lock of hair, a portrait miniature or a photograph. These can be found in most metals, especially gilt brass, silver or gold, and vary in price from £20 up to several hundred, depending on quality and condition.

Another Victorian favourite was the cameo, usually carved from shell or hard- stone, but also produced in coral, ivory, or precious or semiprecious stones. Unusual, well-carved scenes with good detail command high prices — between £2000 and £3000 — whereas the more common profiles average around £300-£400. Gold-mounted cameos are the most sought after, while machine- carved examples fetch £ 100-£200.

When examining a shell cameo, hold it up to the light to spot any cracks. Joins along the raised parts may indicate a composite cameo, where the carved design has been made separately and then applied to the body. Also, check for bubbles, which betray a moulded glass cameo. The mount should be examined as well for damage; look out for any missing decoration or bad repairs.

Animal Jewellery

The Victorians were fond of the macabre, and many of their brooches incorporate a rabbit’s foot, bird’s claws, a bird’s head or even an entire bird. Today such jewellery is considered distasteful and auction prices have dropped accordingly. Earrings may reach £150, but often sell for less. Some pieces are a little more acceptable, however, including sharks’ teeth, tigers’ claws, or a snail’s operculum (the horny cover of the shell opening), which looks like a green and white pebble. These sell fairly well if mounted with plenty of decoration. Butterfly wings were also often set in silver, and change hands for £3o-£300.

The most popular animal brooches, however, are gem or paste-set pieces modelled as animals — notably butterflies and birds. A novelty that is popular today depicts twin monkeys, one seated on a bar and the other hanging from the bar. Monkey brooches in paste cost £150-£200, while those with diamonds fetch at least three times this amount.

Around the 1860s, reverse crystal intaglio brooches were made which give a three- dimensional effect. The technique was used effectively on pieces depicting dogs‘ heads, flowers, bees and fish. Good examples are now rare, and fetch around £ 1 000-£1500.

Towards the end of the 19th century numerous bar brooches were made. They were decorated with engraving, applied motifs, gems or paste, usually as a cluster or in a row, with a pin fitting. This style was adapted to produce novelty shapes, such as the outline of hunting horns, horseshoes, animals, birds and even children’s teeth on a bar. Most examples fetch £15-£50, but £100-£3 00 if the design incorporates small precious stones.

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