The Jewelry of Joan Rivers

The private collection of the late, great Joan Rivers is being auctioned off this morning at Christie's New York.

We expected to see some bold, Retro pieces (and were not disappointed), but were also pleasantly surprised by Ms. River's thoughtful collection of Art Nouveau brooches. A few of our favorites from the online portion of the sale:

A Victorian Brooch by Richard Attenborough & Co.

A recent addition to our cases is this exquisite antique 15k gold knot brooch set with turquoise cabochons: 

The two hanging charms are detachable, and can be worn separately as pendants:

The heart even has a tiny locket compartment on the back, now filled with a piece of old silk.

Even better, this brooch comes in its original fitted box, which is still marked with the label of Richard Attenborough & Co at 68 Oxford St. in London. Attenborough & Co. resided at the Oxford Street address c.1841 – 1871 – we think the brooch dates to the earlier part of this range, c.1840 – 1850.

A Monday Menagerie

We have quite a collection of animal-themed jewels at the moment.

A lovely lizard:

Brooch, 18k gold, coral, diamond & ruby. 19th century, French. Currently available at Gray & Davis.

An Outstanding Owl:

Brooch. 9k gold, Bohemian garnet. 19th century. Currently available at Gray & Davis.

Some slithering snakes surrounding a scarab:

Ring. 14k yellow gold, boulder opal carved as scarab. Art Nouveau c.1900. Currently available at Gray & Davis.

A ghostly goat:

Intaglio seal ring. 14k gold, carnelian, early 19th century. Currently available at Gray & Davis.

Two loving lions:

Bangle. 18k yellow gold, 19th century. Currently available at Gray & Davis.

A foxy fox:

Brooch. 14k yellow, ruby. Currently available at Gray & Davis. 

And some busy beetles:

Earrings. 14k yellow gold, Brazilian tortoise beetles. Mid-19th century. Currently available at Gray & Davis.

Brooches Are Back?

Our favorite new freebie paper, Trending NY, just jumped on the “brooches are back” bandwagon. 

Will this trend finally come true?? We certainly hope so. So many wonderful brooches, pins and dress clips exist in the vintage market, just waiting to become the finishing touch on everything from a winter jacket to a wedding dress.

Brooches were incredibly popular during the Art Deco era, and Sotheby’s New York has some stunning pieces at this month’s Important Jewels sale. This impressive Cartier jewel has definitely caught our eye:

Platinum, diamond, rock crystal and onyx brooch.  Cartier, France. Estimate $20,000 - $30,000. 

Of course, we have a few great Art Deco examples in our own collection as well:

Crafted in elegant geometric patterns in glittering gems and precious metals, our Deco brooches are anything but old-fashioned. What a fun new (old) trend!

All About Scottish Agate

Antique Scottish agate, or “pebble” jewelry is bold, sentimental and a tad bit kitschy: a perfect embodiment of the Victorian era. 

Victorian Scottish agate luckenbooth brooch, c. mid-nineteenth century.  Currently available at Gray & Davis. 

The same way Woody Allen’s Gil Pender ached to time travel back to the roaring twenties in Midnight in Paris, nineteenth-century Brits pined away for a life in Medieval Scotland. The country’s romantic castles and dramatic, empty landscapes provided the perfect backdrop for urbanites caught up in the industrial revolution to imagine themselves as noble knights and their lovely ladies.

Queen Victoria herself was an enthusiastic proponent of all things Scottish. In 1847 she purchased Balmoral castle in Aberdeenshire as a vacation home, and published affectionate memoirs of hunting for gems in Scottish streams. 

Illustration of Queen Victoria rocking some tartan. 

Tourists were swept up in the Queen’s fascination with the highlands, and followed her there in search of their own authentic Scottish experience. Local jewelers and merchants capitalized on this influx of vacationers by producing jewelry featuring stones like the ones Queen Victoria had found in the creeks near Balmoral. Multicolored mosaics of striped and speckled agates, smoky quartzes and pink granite were carefully arranged in engraved settings of silver and gold.

Many of these jewels were fabricated as traditional Scottish forms dating back to the Middle Ages - like the luckenbooth, or crowned heart brooch pictured above. Scottish style agates were also used in more contemporary Victorian designs, as demonstrated by the two stunning bangles below. 

Two hinged bangles in silver, Scottish agate and cairngorn. c. mid-nineteenth century. Currently available at Gray & Davis.

Scottish jewelry was at its height of popularity between 1845 – 1870, but remained fashionable until the turn of the century. A fair number of pretty pieces survive today, waiting to be taken from their dusty velvet boxes by those nostalgic for a time long before their own.