peridot Archives

Art Nouveau plique-à-jour enamel, peridot, and diamond necklace.

July 17, 2013

I don’t show you enough Art Nouveau pieces. Art Nouveau jewelry is frequently very ornate, which makes it more difficult to translate into the modern day than say, Art Deco jewelry. But it’s often very beautiful and almost always worth looking at.

Art Nouveau plique-à-jour enamel, peridot, and diamond necklace, circa 1900.

This spectacular necklace was made in 1900. It stars a pear-shaped peridot weighing approximately 2.20 carats, amid an openwork frame, decorated by plique-à-jour enamel, rose- and old-cut diamonds. The piece is completed by a double link-chain spectacle-set with rose-cut diamonds, mounted in 18 karat white and yellow gold.

Want to see the full view? Of course you do.

An antique Art Nouveau plique-à-jour enamel, peridot, and diamond necklace, circa 1900.

Fabulous. The pendant is detachable – it’s intended to function as a brooch, but the listing mentions that the brooch fitting is currently missing.

At just around 14 inches, this Art Nouveau plique-à-jour enamel, peridot, and diamond necklace is almost a choker. I imagine the dangling diamond fans would hover tantalizingly over a the clavicle of a lady lucky enough to wear this.

Here’s a detail shot of the side enamel.

And of the central element, because it’s spectacular and deserves millions of pictures.

This Art Nouveau plique-à-jour enamel, peridot, and diamond necklace was listed in Sotheby’s April 2010 Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite auction. All images and info are thanks to Sotheby’s.

Antique peridot, enamel, and pearl ring.

June 24, 2013

This ring is faaaaancy.

Antique peridot, enamel, and pearl ring, circa 1900.

This spectacular thing was made in 1900. It centers an intense, dazzling peridot surrounded by a crown of tiny rose gold flowers and natural seed pearls. As the icing on the cake, the border is surrounded by an additional layer of rusty brown and grassy green enamel.

Notice how the pearls are beads strung on a wire, rather than set into the piece like the peridot. Cool, yes?

As is befitting the opulence of the front of this ring, the back, shank, and gallery are all covered in delicate engraving. It’s lovely from every angle.

This ring is currently for sale at Fourtane, listing available via 1stdibs. All images and info are thanks to Fourtane and 1stdibs.

19th century gem and diamond cluster necklace.

December 26, 2012

This necklace is awesome. Like get-outta-town, shut-the-front-door awesome. You are forewarned.

This extraordinarily fabulous necklace was made in 1880. It looks a little like the jeweler did drugs while designing it, but I mean that in the best possible way. It’s exuberantly cheerful.

The necklace consists of a series of cushion cut stones in openwork floral shaped double diamond borders, with smaller five petal flowerhead motifs in between. The smaller flowerheads each have a ruby center and diamonds on each petal. This chain suspends a pendant of similar design with one large garnet and a number of small diamonds.

Gems in this necklace: diamonds, rubies, garnets, white sapphires, aquamarines, yellow zircons, pink topaz, peridot, tourmaline, and orange topaz.

This necklace is currently listed on the S.J. Philips website. All images and info are thanks to S.J. Philips.

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