Jewellery

These are some terms I gave to the Martha Stewart web site after my appearance on her show last week that will help you while shopping for your new favorite piece.

Cabochon
A stone that has a rounded, domed surface with no facets, or a paste with a flat back.

Diamante
Faceted, highly reflective crystal or glass stones cut to resemble gemstones.

En tremblant
A piece of jewelry with a motif that is mounted on a tiny spring so that it trembles when the wearer moves.

Jelly Belly
An animal pin that has a clear lucite or glass stone in the center for the "belly."

Duette
A pin or brooch that can be worn as two separate pins or clipped together as one.

Gilding
Process by which a base metal is plated with a very thin layer of gold.

Paste
Crystal or ordinary glass with a high lead content, which has been cut and faceted to look like a gemstone. Also known as rhinestone or diamante.

Vermeil
Sterling silver plated with gold. Also called silver gilt or gold wash. During the 1940s, most American costume jewelry was made of vermeil sterling silver. 

A coppery gold matte finish first used on costume jewelry in movies in the 1940s because it reduced the glare produced by studio lights.

I really appreciate good antique costume jewellery and frequently remind people that it's often more evocative of its age than precious jewels. The Romans were masters at creating glass imitation gemstones and ever since the makers of 'secondary' jewellery should not be thought of as second class because their costume pieces frequently display exemplary craftsmanship. It's possible to pick up pieces with evocative period style for a relatively small outlay. There are some really nice pieces on the market dating from the late 18th century. This brooch is very typical of fashionable jewellery known as Berlin ironwork; popular in both France and Germany in the early to mid 19th Century.

A 5cm long Lalique brooch in the shape of a cicada sold last week for £58,000 in Salisbury at the Woolley and Wallis jewellery sale. The brooch dates from 1901-1905; dated so accurately because it was in its original box which had the address in Paris where René Lalique worked during this period. Like almost all of the designer’s work it is the craftsmanship which creates the value not the intrinsic value of the jewels used in its making.

Apparently the piece had been in the same family since new and the lady who sold it did so in order to have a new knee; she had no idea as to its value. The auctioneers’ valuation of £5,000-7,000 was wildly out and no doubt the lady was ecstatic.
 

Last year costume jewellery in the USA generated $900 million in sales. Modern pieces accounted for the majority of this, but it includes collectable costume pieces as well. With people today becoming a little strapped for cash then costume jewellery is the answer to pepping up your wardrobe. Interestingly it was following the Wall Street crash of 1929 that much of the best costume jewellery was made, which makes it an interesting period that we could now be entering for a whole new range of  collectables. Just beware of missing stones and chipped enamel when buying older pieces.

In the USA Potomac Estate Jewelers have their inaugural Jewellery  auction, featuring items from prominent Washington DC estates. There’s an exhibition from June 20-22 between 1 and 4pm where bidders can inspect each piece and ask their specialist questions.

Among the highlights of the auction is a platinum diamond gem brooch in the shape of a flower basket. The piece contains 25 round diamonds, one large pear–shaped diamond (approx. 1.40 cts.) as well as other diamonds and rubies; it’s starting at $8,000. In addition there’s a diamond and sapphire fish-shaped brooch/pendant in 18-karat white gold, expected to sell somewhere from $4,000 to $5,000; a long, uniform cultured-pearl strand with a diamond clasp, expected to fetch between $1,000 and $1,500; and a heavy link bracelet in 18-karat yellow gold, weighing 6.5 ounces and starting at $4,000.