Autumn = Brooch Weather

Fall is wonderful for many reasons: Halloween candy, foliage, apple picking, etc., but for antique jewelry addicts the absolute BEST part about fall is the return of big brooch weather.

Assortment of Victorian gold & gemstone brooches, all currently available at Gray & Davis. 

That’s right, gone are the gauzy garments of summer that could barely support a single stick pin. Back are the formidable trench coats, tweed blazers and chunky sweaters of fall: all perfect canvases for the substantial, statement-making brooches favored by Victorian fashionistas. 

Say YES to Wednesday: Antique Opal & Diamond Halo Ring

A pretty white opal cabochon is surrounded by sparkly old cut diamonds and set in a dainty yellow gold mounting. Feminine, understated and not traditional. 

Currently available in the Gray & Davis online shop.

Would you say yes?

From the Gray & Davis Archives

Below are a few of the fabulous jewels of Gray & Davis past. We’re glad these pieces went to good homes, but that doesn’t mean we can’t reminisce!

From top to bottom:

Selection of gold Victorian lockets

A lovely articulated snake bracelet, c. mid-19th century

A stunning Art Deco gemstone bracelet with diamonds and sapphires

Wonderful vintage gyspy ring with a cornflower sapphire and antique-cut diamonds

An Opal for October

Oh, the opal. Just one of these intriguing gems can contain "the piercing fire of rubies, the purple brilliancy of the amethyst, and the sea-green of the emerald."

Art Nouveau stick pin with carved opal face by Wilhelm Lucas von Cranach. c. 1900. Currently in the collection of the  Pforzheim Schmuckmuseum in Germany. 

Once upon a time, a Roman senator by the name of Nonius was in possession of a beautiful opal the size of a hazelnut. The oligarch Marc Antony coveted Nonius's opal, and desired to have it for himself. To avoid having to part with the gem, Nonius took it and fled, leaving behind all his other possessions. We can't say we blame him 

Orange Blossoms Explained

In the Victorian era, orange blossoms were worn by fashionable brides as symbols of innocence and fertility. 

Artificial orange blossoms worn by Henrietta Woodcock at her wedding in 1848. Victoria & Albert Museum. 

Perhaps the most famous bride to opt for orange blossoms was Queen Victoria herself, who wore a wreath of them in her hair at her 1840 wedding. 

The Queen's husband noticed Victoria's affinity for orange blossoms, and gifted her jewels of porcelain, enamel and gold that were beautiful representations of the real thing. 

Suite of porcelain, enamel and gold orange blossom jewelry. Gifted to Queen Victoria by Prince Albert between 1839 and 1846. 

The fashion for faux orange blossoms faded by the twentieth century, but the sentiment behind the buds had become wedding tradition. If you look closely at Art Deco bridal jewels, you are likely to come across tiny orange blossoms incorporated into the design:

All of these pieces date to the 1920s and 1930s, and though the orange blossom motif is very subtle, the sentiment remains the same.