Catalog: Estate Jewelry: Gold: Art Nouveau (171)

A lovely Art Nouveau 14K yellow gold honeymoon pin in the form of a crescent moon decorated with blue and white enamel forget-me-nots surrounding an enameled pansy set with a .025-ct round brilliant diamond. The pansy is the more uncommon type where the petals have elegantly-chased decoration. In Victorian flower language, both the pansy and the forget-me-not symbolized “think of me.” When flowers and crescents were used together, the symbolism was “honeymoon,” and these were popular gifts given to new brides by either their grooms or close family.

• Origin: America, ca. 1900
• Condition: excellent, no enamel damange
• Dimensions: 7/8” x 11/16”
• Weight: 2.8 grams
• Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .025 carat

A truly exceptional example of American Art Nouveau enameled gold jewelry, this pendant features a deeply three-dimensional waterlily enameled in translucent lavender. The blossom is surrounded by bright green leaves and another bud about to open. A pair of baroque freshwater pearls flank the blossom, and the whole is presented against a gold frame incorporating whiplash curves and suspending a freshwater dogtooth pearl. The pearls are of exceptional quality, with bright orient in rainbow colors. The pendant is suspended from a leaf-shape plaque. The depth of the design is amazing. The pendant can be removed from the chain and originally had a removable pinstem mechanism so it could be worn as a brooch. The mechanism is now missing, but could easily be recreated by a competent goldsmith. All in all, this is one of the very best Art Nouveau enameled pendants we’ve owned. Tested and guaranteed 14K.

Origin: America (probably Newark), ca. 1900. Condition: excellent, no enamel damage. Size: length of pendant from the top of the leaf element to the bottom of the dogtooth pearl, 2”; width of pendant element, 1-3/16”; chain length, 18”. Weight: 8.2 gr.

A delicate 14K yellow gold bracelet by Krementz fashioned as a chain of pansy blossoms. Each pansy is centered with a small baroque pearl. Alternating links are in a foliate style and are set with round brilliant cut amethysts. Pansies held special meaning in the Victorian period as flowers of remembrance. The use of purple and white gems mimics the flower’s most classic coloring. The cleverly concealed clasp is marked with Krementz’ hallmark and “14K.”

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent, all original. Dimensions: 7/16” wide, overall length, 7”. Weight: 12.0 grams. Approximate Total Gemstone Weight: 1.06 cts.

A lovely 14K gold pendant necklace featuring a colorfully enameled violet blossom centered with a seed pearl and suspending a freshwater pearl. The flower petals and leaves are enhanced with translucent enamels in shades of purple, green, yellow and burgundy. In Victorian flower symbology, the violet represented "modesty." The pendant is suspended from its original chain, marked 14K on the clasp. The pendant is unmarked, but tested and guaranteed 14K.

• Origin: America, ca 1900
• Condition: excellent; no enamel damage
• Dimensions: pendant, 3/8" x 15/16"; chain length, 16"
• Weight: 6.0 grams.

You know you'll live a life of good luck when you're wearing this 14K gold upturned horseshoe pendant necklace. The horseshoe is adorned with blue enameled forget-me-nots, flowers that conveyed exactly that meaning in the Victorian language of flowers. Originally a brooch, the horseshoe has been converted to a pendant with the addition of a delicate 14K gold split cable chain.

• Origin: America, ca. 1900.
• Condition: converted from a brooch; excellent enamel.
• Dimensions: pendant, 7/8" x 7/8"; overall necklace length, 16".
• Weight: 3.0 grams.

A lovely Art Nouveau 14K yellow gold floral brooch featuring an ornate lily blossom enameled in translucent shades of blue and yellow enamel. The engraving of the gold surface under the enamel shows through to add elegant texture. The flower is centered by a small old mine cut diamond and is surrounded by a swirling frame set with 59 seed pearls. The reverse retains the original watch hook. Tested and guaranteed 14K.

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent, no enamel damage, replaced clasp. Dimensions: 1-1/4" x 1-1/16". Weight: 5.2 gr. Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .03 ct.

You can nearly hear this glowering lion roaring. Decorated in spectacular translucent enamels, the lion’s eyes are studded with old European cut diamonds and the mouth grasps an old mine cut diamond. The diamonds are graded as H/VS1. The brooch is deeply three-dimensional, with a lot of detailing in the mane. The back of the pin retains the original pinstem and a watch hook. The hook would have been used to suspend a pocket watch but could now be used to suspect a gemstone drop. It is also marked with an American maker’s mark (almost certainly an uncommon variation of the Alling & Co. mark) and a design patent date of Oct 13, 1903. The pin can easily be converted to a pendant with the addition of a folding bail.

• America, ca 1903.
• Excellent condition; a nick to the enamel on the nose.
• Dimensions: 1-1/4 diameter.
• Weight: 11.2 grams.
• Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .20 carat.

A wonderful Art Nouveau enameled gold witch's heart worked in shades of green, yellow and rose enamel over an engraved background and set with a pair of natural baroque pearls. The shading of the enamels is lovely and contrasts nicely with the luster of the pearls. In Victorian symbology, the witch's heart was used to express the sentiment of "bewitched by love." We've never before seen a witch's heart in an Art Nouveau enamel. The pendant has a folding bail and also a pinstem for wear as a brooch. The reverse is stamped with the mark for A.J. Hedges.

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent, no enamel damage. Dimensions: 1-1/16" x 1". Weight: 7.3 grams.

A delightful Art Nouveau 18K yellow gold slide locket, the cover ornately decorated with a rooster crowing at a rose cut diamond sun. The scene is completed with farm implements in the foreground and a view of wheat field in the distance. The rooster is, of course, a national symbol of France. Though most slide lockets were made in France, this example does not have French hallmarks. Tested and guaranteed 18K.

Ca. 1900. Condition: excellent; sharp detail. Size: 1-1/8” x 1-1/4” (excluding bale and jump ring). Weight: 13.3 grams. Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .15 carat.

A gorgeous and generously sized Art Nouveau 14K gold and diamond locket by Carter, Gough & Co. The cover features a maiden emerging from a bouquet of flowers. The choice of flowers in the bouquet sends a very specific hidden meaning in Victorian floral symbolism. The iris on the left means, "I have a message for you," and the jonquil on the right means, "I desire a return of affection." The flowers and the maiden's hair are studded with six old mine cut diamonds. The background is worked in a stippled pattern that contrasts beautifully with the hand-chased design. The back of the locket has a period three-letter monogram "MCR". The interior retains the original frame and is engraved "June 30, 1903." The interior is stamped with Carter, Gough's hallmark.

• America, 1903
• 1-1/2" diameter (excluding the bail and jump ring)
• 22.3 grams
• Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .15 carat

A beautifully-detailed semi-nude woman peeks out from the center of a pink enameled flower in this Art Nouveau pendant and brooch. Her hair is adorned with a diamond-centered white enameled flower and she wears a diamond necklace. The background flower petal are worked in translucent iridescent enamels in shades of pink fading to cream at the edges. The back of the pendant retains the original folding bail, pinstem and clasp. The back is stamped 14K and has an unidentified maker's mark "7VI".

NOTE: The pendant is shown with a 16" 14K gold chain, available for an additional $125.

• Origin: America, ca. 1910
• Condition: excellent; no enamel damage except perhaps a small nick to one of the white flower petals visible only under magnification
• Dimensions: 1-1/16" diameter
• Weight: 5.9 grams
• Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .08 carat.

A delightful Art Nouveau daisy pendant/pin, the petals formed from long Mississippi river pearls arranged around a textured gold disc studded with an old mine cut diamond. The pearls have very attractive lustre and the diamond has nice color and clarity (J/VS2). The back retains the original pendant hook and pinstem/clasp. Tested and guaranteed 14K.

NOTE: The pendant is shown with an optional 16" 14K chain.

• Origin: America, ca. 1900.
• Dimensions: 1" diameter.
• Weight: 4.9 grams.
• Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .10 carat.

A pretty Art Nouveau 10K yellow gold locket by Elias Rees & Son, depicting a young woman surrounded by a bower of flowers. The back cover bears a period monogram, nicely worked in ornate Art Nouveau script. The interior retains the original frames and glass covers on both sides and is hallmarked by Rees.

Origin: America, ca. 1915. Condition: excellent; nice detail. Dimensions: 1" diameter (excluding bail and jump ring). Weight: 5.8 gr.

A large and extremely rare 18K gold scenic locket depicting a detailed image of four passengers in an early automobile waving as an Antoinette monoplane with two passengers flies by. The car's headlights are set with rose cut diamonds. The detailed scene includes a flock of birds dispersed by the airplane, a plume of exhaust smoke behind the car, and another automobile with passengers and a village in the distant background. A female passenger leans from the side of the car, waving her handkerchief at the passing airplane. The bottom edge bears a signature, likely that of Holy Frères, partly hidden by the applied scalloped border. The interior retains the two original photo frames. The back cover is engraved with an ornate three-letter monogram and the date 7-12-1915 (December 7 in the European dating system). The bail is stamped for 18K.

• Origin: France or Switzerland, ca 1915
• Dimensions: 1 9/32" diameter
• Condition: excellent; a pinpoint ding to the back cover
• Weight: 8.4 grams
• Approximate Total Diamond eight: .03 carat

Converted from an antique Art Nouveau stickpin, this lovely ring features a round brilliant cut blue sapphire flanked by curving gold borders that form a faintly heart-shaped. The design is accented at the top and bottom with tiny seed pearls. The sapphire has a pretty cornflower blue color and excellent clarity. Both the crown and the band are 14K.

• Origin: America, ca 1900.
• Condition: excellent.
• Dimensions, crown, 7/16 x 7/16”.
• Finger Size: 6 1/4.
• Weight: 1.7 grams.
• Approximate Total Sapphire Weight: .38 carat.

A lovely large-size enameled 14K gold Art Nouveau flower pin/pendant. The petals are finely decorated with shaded enamels in tones of periwinkle, violet, cream and dark rose. The sculptural petals surround a round brilliant-cut diamond, graded as I/J, VVS2. The back of the pin retains the original clasp, pinstem and folding bail so it can be worn as a pendant. The back is marked “14K” and also has an unidentified maker’s mark.

Origin: America, ca. 1925 Condition: excellent, no enamel damage. Dimensions: 1-1/2” x 1-1/2”. Weight: 14.9 grams. Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .25 ct.

A very good Art Nouveau man's wedding ring worked in 14K yellow gold. The front of the shank is hand-chased in an ornate scrolling pattern that cradles three old European cut diamonds in bezel settings. The design is elegant, yet not too feminine. The diamonds are very good quality, graded in the setting as G/H color and VS1 clarity. The inside of the shank is engraved "Feb 1st 1918" and is marked for 14K gold.

Origin: America, 1918. Condition: excellent, minor wear at the back of the shank. Finger Size 9. Dimensions: 1/4" wide in the front, tapering to 3/32" at the back. Weight: 5.3 grams. Approximate Total Diamond Weight: .30 carat.

A wonderfully naughty Art Nouveau 18K yellow gold ring depicting a couple engaged in mutual oral stimulation. Victorian and Edwardian erotic jewelry is extremely rare, having been made only for the daring few who were willing to wear such things in public. Like other pieces of erotica, the designer was charged with making the object look as innocent as possible, only revealing its true nature upon very careful and prolonged inspection. Upon first examination, this ring appears to be a typical sinuous floral Art Nouveau design. Looking closely however, the design reveals a man and woman amorously entwined. Even the back of the shank is decorated with a pair of somewhat cleverly concealed penises. The ring is marked with French hallmarks for 18K gold.

Origin: France, ca. 1910. Condition: excellent, very little wear. Size: 1/2" wide. Finger Size: 8-3/4. Weight: 7.5 grams.