Victorian Stag Locket

I just listed an incredible locket this afternoon - a ca. 1880s Victorian stag locket with enamel details. The stag was a symbol of harmony and honor ("will fight if needed" kind of thing) to the Victorians and Queen Victoria herself had several items of jewelry with either stag teeth or stag motifs. Her husband, Prince Albert, enjoyed hunting the animal. The blue enamel on the locket forms the horizon behind the stag, which stand majestically on a rocky slope. The details on the animal are wonderful and the locket is in excellent condition. I don't believe it was ever worn, actually.

In this article, you can read about some of the teeth (human and animal!) jewelry that Queen Victoria possessed and see a fascinating stag tooth necklace gifted to her by Prince Albert.

Napoleon's last leaf

This is the last remaining gold laurel leaf from the wreath that Napoleon wore at his coronation in 1804. The leaves (and berries) - all fashioned by the court jeweler Martin-Guillaume Biennais in naturalistic style - were later melted down by Louis XVIII during the Restoration. This leaf survived because Napoleon gave it to the painter Jean-Baptiste Isabey, who later had it mounted in this box with an accompanying note about how he came to have it:

"At Saint-Cloud in 1805, before the departure for Milan, I was helping the emperor as he tried on the royal crown which was supposed to go above the golden laurel wreath made for the coronation in Notre-Dame. One of the leaves fell off. Just as I was about to give it to the head chamberlain, His Majesty said to me: 'Keep it; it will make a good souvenir of your clumsiness.'"

It is worth listening to the short audioguide for this piece. 

Laurel leaf image courtesy of The National Museum of Sweden
Quotation via Napoleon.org
 

Take a star from the sky

After years spent handling, researching, wearing and thinking about beautiful jewelry, I am now accustomed to a certain level of "wow." I don't react to everything all the time - certainly not like I used to when I first started this gig. I guess I am a bit desensitized! That said, there are always things that make me shake my head in amazement. Like this Victorian paste brooch. It looks like someone plucked a star from the sky and put it in a velvet box. I feel this one in my ribs, which means it's really good.

Incidentally, I just stocked a 9 CT and paste ring in the shop this week. She's really pretty.

You can see more extraordinary paste jewelry on this Morning Glory reference page.

For Her Majesty

In honor of the anniversary of the first day of Queen Victoria's reign, which began 176 years ago yesterday (June 20, 1837) I listed this ring. It features one of her favorite stones - turquoise. I think my favorite thing about this piece is the range of color in the natural pearls and in the turquoise. I also love the rose gold band and setting. This pairing of seed pearls and turquoise was especially popular in the Late Victorian period, with rubies and diamonds occasionally making an appearance, too. These rings are easy to recognize because of three things: a geometrically framed face set with patterns of calibre cut turquoise and seed pearls, rose gold setting, and decorative chasing on the shoulders. Here are a few other rings in the same style from around the web (images linked).

 

 

 

 

 

Antique Russian rings

Art Nouveau "ribbon" ring

Russian Belle Epoque "plume" ring

Opal and diamond ring

Empress Maria cipher ring

These rings over at Romanov Russia have me in fits (images linked). I love ribbon/bow rings (you can see mine here) so the top one is pure perfection as far as I'm concerned. This company deals in Russian antiques and pre-WWI Fabergé, as well as rare items from the Russian Royal Family. I'll do another post later about their pendants and lockets. My recommendation: Put on your diapers before you visit their website.

Images courtesy of Romanov Russia

Georgian ring and box

This Georgian ring just sold over at Bell & Bird but that doesn't stop me from thinking about it and its gorgeous shark skin box. I've never seen a ring box that opens with the ring face pointing down, have you? I love how it completely changes the shape of the box and gives it a pinched/tapered top.

Photos courtesy of Bell & Bird

Step inside

I found this baby ring a few weeks ago in its original box, which is always a splendid bonus. When I looked up the company name on the box I was delighted to find some old photos of the jewelry storefront as well as information about the owner.

Joseph C. Herkner and his family arrived in America from Bohemia (Czech Republic) and settled in Grand Rapids, MI in the mid 1800s. The young Herkner trained as a watchmaker and then served several years as a soldier during the Civil War. He opened his own jewelry shop in 1870 with a modest stock and a repair bench. He was a well respected figure in Grand Rapids until his death in 1914 and people in the community considered his shop to be the epitome of quality. What I would give to walk up those steps and open the doors . . .

It is pretty incredible to think that this ring was once for sale inside this shop, sitting on a counter somewhere or maybe even in the window display. Who would have guessed that nearly 100 years later it would be offered for sale again in my little virtual shop. I wonder what Mr. Herkner would think about that.

Images via historygrandrapids.org

The new one

I recently added this piece to my mourning collection. The white enamel border likely indicates that the deceased was a child or an unmarried woman. The royal blue enamel background seem almost back-lit, doesn't it? And I love how the knotted and gathered lock of hair perfectly fills the compartment. *Deep, catching breath* - this is a special one.

☾ Spooky owl locket ☽

So, I thought that I had found the coolest locket ever when I found this. But then I saw this owl locket and I felt like my eyes were melting, in the best possible sense of "eyes melting."

Let's review the checklist of awesome things about this piece, shall we?

✓ It's Victorian.
✓ It's a locket.
✓ It's black and gold.
✓ There's a f*#king owl on it!!
✓ It's bog oak.
✓ The beak and feet are done in silver enamel.
✓ So actually, it is black, gold and silver. Even better.
✓ The owl is chilling out on a spooky, twisted gold branch.
✓ The owl is simultaneously cute and totally diabolical.
✓ It's OLD! Like, 1870s old.

The only thing that could make this locket better is if it played a song when you opened it. So let me ask you: What song do you think it would play? The person with the best answer (judged according to no rules whatsoever) will win a little Jean Jean goodie.

Happy October!

Images courtesy of James Alfredson

Locket Lundi

Today's locket is a late 1800s cerulean enamel piece with 10K gold and seed pearls. The interior holds the original glass inserts and photo bezels, as well as a hand-tinted photo of a woman in period dress. These blue Victorian lockets are highly collectible and I am very excited to offer one in the shop.

Talisman

I splurged and bought myself a new piece of mourning jewelry. It is the darling of my collection now, and I think you can see why.  I am pretty sure it is the oldest piece of jewelry I own (1849), although I might have a couple other things that come close. I love the color of the hair, the beveled glass compartment, the acanthus leaves engraved around the border and the garter motif.

Every time I look at this brooch a wave of emotion comes over me. Whoever commissioned this back in the mid-1800s did so with a full, loving heart for someone.  What was the relationship between the person who gave the lock of hair and the wearer? A husband and wife? A mother and daughter? Impossible to know. What I do know is that other mourning pieces I own do not have the same effect on me. This piece is powerful and full of memory.

P.S. Do you see how the pin extends beyond the edge of the piece? And how the hinge is tube shaped? These are both clues that the piece is from the 1800s, since these characteristics fell out of style in the late Victorian period. If you see these elements on a brooch and the price and condition is right, grab it up!

P.P.S. I bought this on ebay. Usually, bidding on ebay for mourning pieces is very competitive and the prices go quite high. I don't stand a chance! But this was one of those "or best offer" deals that ended up working out. Pretty lucky.

The box the box!

This piece in the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum is incredible. As usual, I like the box more than the thing inside the box. Just look at the label. Just LOOK at it. I feel like my insides are dissolving (in a good way). Jesus, it is amazing. What I would give to pay a visit to this Artiste en Cheveux and commission a piece. I'd ask for an extra box or two with my order.

On the topic, I'm pretty excited about mourning jewelry (have been for a few years) and I am going to start talking about it more here, mkay? So, now let's see . . .  the blog will be about vintage jewelry, my son, scarves, pretty lockets, old photos, hot chocolate, motherhood, my son, hairwork and death jewelry. Soooooo cohesive, I know. Bear with me! I promise things won't get too crazy around here.

A vivid memory

Today I've got a little story posted over at the fine blog of Teresa of Bess Georgette. She publishes a series called my vintage memory and this week's installment is written by yours truly! It tells the story of this ring (purchased at Treasure Mart, for those of you who know the place), which was sort of my first step in the direction of collecting vintage jewelry and starting Jean Jean Vintage. You can read it right here!

Locket ring

This locket ring is absolutely incredible! While I prefer to wear my lockets around my neck, I might make an exception for this 1820s beauty. The tiny compartment once held a lock of hair.

Photos courtesy of The Three Graces

The Queen's stockings

A few pairs of Queen Victoria's silk stockings will be up for auction November 1st in Edinburgh. The black pair are mourning stockings - aren't they lovely? They are part of the Forbes Collection at Old Battersea House, the London home of the Forbes family. The auction catalog is fantastic.

Image courtesy of Lyon & Turnbull