Collier de chien

As I was preparing to list the Edwardian collier de chien in the shop last week, I searched around a bit for images of other styles. Ten minutes quickly turned to sixty minutes. I don't think I blinked. The collier de chien was popularized by Princess Alexandra (later Queen Alexandra), who supposedly wore the neck-hugging necklaces to hide a scar. The style was quickly adopted by women in England and beyond, making the collier de chien (and plaque de cou) one of the most recognizable styles of Edwardian jewelery. This Pinterest board shows many great examples, including several unbelievable plaque de cou by Lalique and the like.

{all images linked to their original source}

The beloved beetle

Why beetle jewelry on the 4th of July? Because you need to have some pre-firework excitement.  I mean, sheeeeez - beetle jewelry is the best. This piece is turn-of-the-century and mounted in 14K gold. It sold for a reasonable $230. The beetle-shaped bezels just kill me.

via Aspire Auctions

Feather your nest

This is my current favorite available in the Erie Basin online shop, a turn of the century 14K gold and coral feather. What an elegant design!

Kings of the Victorian Jungle

Hey, hey - the Art Nouveau lion locket that I stocked in the shop today has a fraternal twin! The Twin, who is 14K yellow gold (hence the $$$$ tag) is for sale over at Lang Antiques. The Jean Jean version is gold filled and likely American made. Aside from provenance and metal type, they are quite similar. They date to the same era (1900s-1910s) with a nearly identical lion and shield motif. Even the textured background and curly border are shared. I just love finding jewelry mates like these.

Bon weekend!

Festoon!

Festoon - it sounds like a party, doesn't it? And it kind of is. It's a party around your neck. The word comes from the Latin festum (feast) or festo (festal garland). Lillian Baker (Art Nouveau & Art Deco Jewelry) defines "festoon" as, "A garland of chain or chains decorated with ornamental drops or pendants which lay on a curve against a woman's upper bosom." Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Raise your hand if you would like a garland of jewels heaving on your bosom. My hand is raised.

I think festoon necklaces are the most feminine of all types of jewelry, especially ones from the turn-of-the-century. These necklaces can reduce me to tears, people. Even hanging on a hook or resting in a jewelry case they look full of life to me. They are the perfect symbols of Edwardian joie de vivre and elegance - just dormant and just waiting to breathe again on the neck of a pretty girl.

Getting on with it . . . I've only had a couple festoon necklaces in the shop (including this one) because 1.) they are really hard to find and 2.) when I do find them, I usually keep them because I love them. But I've been very fortunate this fall and I've found two. One I am keeping (can you spot it in this mess?), and one I am listing in the shop.

So here she is. You can read more about her here.

The rest of the posts here this week will be about festoon necklaces (obsessed much?) I'll do an outfit post featuring one from my own collection, I'll share some old advertisements for them from the 1920s and I'll also post some of my favorites from around the web. Believe me, you won't get tired of them.

For February babies

I added two pretty amethyst pieces to the shop today, both from the 1910s-1920s. It is a real joy to work with such beautiful things. You can find them here.

Next week on the blog . . .
Fashion Barbies (I promise!)
Dozens of handbags coming to the shop
Severen turns 9 months old, that handsome little devil

Bon weekend! I hope it includes hot cider and tall leather boots ♥

Locket Lundi: Pocket watch style

I am stocking a wonderful turn of the century pocket-watch style locket today. The best thing about this piece (other than the opals!) is that it has the original company insert from the Providence Jewelry Company, which is found listed in records as early as 1902.

Minerva/Athena jewelry

 gold + enamel + diamond Athena brooch                                     gold + enamel + pearl Athena brooch

                        Ebay ||  $1619                                                           Kensington House Antiques || $2950

gold + shell Athena cameo brooch                       gold + hardstone Athena cameo brooch

Ruby Lane || $890                                                     Lang Antiques || $5950

gold + diamonds + enamel Minerva brooch

Adin Fine Antique Jewelry || $3560

 
gold + enamel + gem-set Athena brooch               gold + natural turquoise Athena cameo brooch 

             Skinners Auctioneers & Appraisers || $600                              Era Gem || $2199

 brass + enamel + paint Minerva brooch, in the shop

I got a few questions about the Minerva/Athena brooch I listed a couple weeks ago as part of the Classical Studies Update. Was this a popular style? What other examples of Greco/Roman goddess jewelry existed? Well, I went looking for similar pieces and I found some real beauties. All of these are fine - gold, pearls, diamonds, etc. - depicting the goddess Minerva (or Athena) in a variety of styles, but with certain consistent features. She always has flowing, curly hair. She is always wearing a helmet, topped with a creature of some kind (griffin, dolphin or serpent). And . . . she is always beautiful. She seems to have been a popular subject for enamel brooches and cameos in the late 1800s. My piece is a great example of how costume jewelers imitated fine jewelers, copying popular trends using less expensive materials. Man, I love 1930s-1940s costume jewelry. I just really love it.

Really something

This antique (1890s-1910s) hair comb is, as the post title suggest, really something. I just can't believe how beautiful the rhinestone mounting is, like an eagle perched with its wings spread. Wouldn't this be an amazing hair ornament for a bride? You can find it here in the shop.

Trip down Market Street, 1906

I first saw this video on a 60 Minutes segment (totally worth watching) and I was blown away. This short film was shot in San Francisco in 1906. The cameraman sat on the front of a streetcar traveling down Market Street, hand-cranking the camera and just letting it run as he headed toward the Ferry Building. Life goes on around him. It is remarkable to see all the people on the road (the dresses, the suits, the hats!) as well as the buildings and other forms of transportation on the street. Eerily, the video was shot just a few days before the great earthquake, when over 80% of the city was destroyed and thousands of its residents killed.

Tiny time capsules

Not very many pieces of antique jewelry are dated. Those that are tend to be sentimental (lockets, wedding bands, etc.). I rarely, rarely find a dated piece but when I do it is such a joy. It is like finding a little piece of a time capsule. That's how I feel about these two pieces -an 1894 locket and a 1904 heart pendant. Can you believe that the locket is nearly 120 years old?! Wow. You will see the locket in the shop a little later this summer the heart pendant will be part of Monday's shop update.

Elegant antennae

Hair ornament by René Lalique, ca. 1900 || gold, silver, steel and diamonds

Insect elegance! This piece is so simple and so purely Art Nouveau. Je l'adore.

Image from Imperishable Beauty: Art Nouveau Jewelry

Come calling

Calling card cases are remnants of the tradition of paying calls around town. Turning down one or another corner of a calling card indicated the specific reason for the call - congratulations, condolences, etc. A folded top left corner signaled that the caller had come in person. This particular case is sweet because there is one last card inside for Mrs. Effie Coolidge, done in an elegant hand on lovely card stock. Mrs. Coolidge probably carried this case at the turn of the century. Wouldn't you love to have a personalized calling or business card case? I would!

Miser's purse

I bought a miser's purse in Kansas last month and I am totally in love with it. Sometimes called stocking purses, these were popular at the end of the 19th century and used to hold coins. This one is made of crocheted silk and cut steel beads. Here's how it works: There is a slit in the fabric near the middle where you can drop coins down either side. You push the silver "sliders" down over the coins after you drop them in to keep them from bouncing around. We didn't have any coins at home so I used my rings to illustrate how it works! So if you see something that looks like a fancy tube sock at your local antique mall, it is probably one of these!

Cookie locket

I just listed a remarkable locket that is the size of a jumbo Oreo cookie. It is the biggest locket I've ever come across in my hunting, and also one of the prettiest. The name engraved on the locket is Garnett, which was a name appropriate for both boys and girls at the turn of the century in the United States. This locket - which was made by the Bliss Brother's Company of Attleboro, MA in the 1910s or 1920s - was most certainly meant for a young lady. I tried to think of all kind of reasons to keep this one - adding Garnett as a second middle name, buying a pet and naming it Garnett, moving to a town called Garnett . . . you get the idea. Can you blame me?

Tatiana

Ever since I read this article in the November issue of The Smithsonian, I've caught myself thinking about this woman again and again. She was Grand Duchess Tatiana Romanova, the second child of Czar Nicolas II and Czarina Alexandra. Her father was the last monarch of Russia. She, along with her four siblings, parents and four attendants were executed on July 17, 1918. I don't know why I feel so heart-achy for her, in particular. There is just something in her expression that grips me.