J.E. Caldwell Archives

Edwardian seed pearl and diamond sautoir, J.E. Caldwell.

March 20, 2013

This thing is seriously pretty.

You see my point? It’s an Edwardian sautoir by J.E. Caldwell and Co, which means it’s long, intricate, and fabulous.

A sautoir is a long necklace that suspends a tassel or other kind of ornament – diamond tassels, in this case. They were often made of woven or twisted pearls like this one, or set with gems (particularly in the later Art deco period). Here are a couple of pictures of fabulous women wearing sautoirs. This will not be the last sautoir I show you.

This delicate piece is composed of seed pearl mesh, suspending 5.20 carats of diamonds at the ends (including the two larger old European-cut diamonds and the smaller, pear-shaped drops). It was made in 1905. The necklace is 23 inches, so as I mentioned, this is a longer piece.

Let’s see some detail shots.

And to show you that the pearl mesh goes all the way around:

Beautiful. This fantastic piece was listed in Sotheby’s 05 December 2012 Magnificent Jewels sale. All images and information are thanks to Sotheby’s.

Art Deco diamond and emerald bracelet by J.E. Caldwell.

November 16, 2012

You know my feelings about Art Deco bracelets. You also know my feelings about J.E. Caldwell. Therefore, we should all be excited after looking at the title of this post.

Detail: Art Deco diamond and emerald bracelet by J.E. Caldwell, circa 1930. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Made in 1930 by J.E. Caldwell and Co, this bracelet is set with three oval-shaped cabochon emeralds, each within a circular-cut diamond plaque. The emeralds alternate with openwork circular and baguette-cut diamond panels, mounted in platinum. Isn’t it glorious? The roundness of the cabochon emeralds is the perfect contrast with the geometric brightness of the diamond patterns.

An Art Deco diamond and emerald bracelet by J.E. Caldwell, circa 1930. Via Diamonds in the Library.

This bracelet was sold as part of Christie’s October 21, 2009 Rare Jewels sale. All images and info are thanks to Christie’s.

Art Deco opal and diamond ring by J. E. Caldwell.

September 6, 2012

It never surprises me when I find an Art Deco piece that I particularly love and it turns out it by J.E. Caldwell. This Art Deco opal and diamond ring is no exception.

This features a black opal set in platinum and surrounded by diamonds. It was made in 1925, by J.E. Caldwell. The black opal is beautiful on its own, but the carefully shaped diamond setting really makes it shine. Diamonds and opals are always a great combination, but the way these diamonds are set in the ridged silver frame at specific intervals provides a geometric visual interest here that many contemporary opal and diamond rings lack.

Don’t you love how the diamonds in the setting pick up the bright colors in the opal? This one must be truly wonderful in sunshine. Let’s cross our fingers that one of us gets to see it in person one day.

This Art Deco opal and diamond ring is currently for sale at Macklowe Gallery, so if you want more information or would like to make the excellent choice of buying this ring you can find its listing here.

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