Victorian Amethyst and Gold Parure

An English Antique 15 karat gold necklace with amethyst, diamond and natural pearl. The necklace has an oval cut amethyst approximately 9.50 carats, 30 old mine-cut diamonds with an ...

This extravagant French Renaissance Revival "Holbeinesque" demi-parure dating from circa 1870 consists of a day/night girandole pendant earrings and a brooch, both composed of garnets, emeralds, diamonds, seed pearls, enamel and 18K gold. The day/night girandole earpendants are each designed with a shaped top centering a cabochon garnet, with detachable pendants suspending flexibly-set garnet drops and seed pearls, enhanced throughout with step-cut emeralds, old mine-cut diamonds, and black and white champlevé enamel, mounted in 18K gold. An exquisite pair of "girandoles", paired with a luxe brooch, this rare French suite in Holbeinesque taste captures the artist's vision of bold form, extravagant color and movement. Product Details: Item #: STE-21098 Country: France Circa: 1870 Dimensions: Brooch: 2.25" length x 2.00" width, Earrings: 2.00" length x 0.75" width Materials: 9 cabochon and tear-drop form garnets; 16 step-cut emeralds (approximate total weight 1.40 carats); 16 old mine-cut diamonds (approximate total weight 1.20 carats); 23 seed pearls; 18K Gold; Enamel Signed: French assay mark, unidentified maker's mark Macklowe Gallery Curator's Notes: Hans Holbein the Younger, the German Renaissance painter best known for his portraits of royalty...

The amethyst stone are a rich purple colour which sit beautifully with the gold settings. The stones slightly graduate in size from the centre of the necklace to the fastening. Len...

The Romantic period (1837-1860) marked the start of the Victorian Era (1837-1901), which reflected the love of a nation for its young queen and her love for her husband, Prince Albert. The jewelry of the period tended toward sentimental, celebrating love, friendship, and affection, often symbolic of their happy marriage. Victorians were especially creative in imbuing romance into their jewels, treasuring forms like lockets, hair jewels made from locks of hair, cameos, acrostic jewels spelling out secret love notes, and mourning jewels when Queen Victoria went into permanent mourning upon Prince Albert’s death. This unique Victorian revival necklace features amethyst with a vivid purple color estimated to be of Siberian origin, and pearls set in 14k yellow gold arranged in two infinite halos around a center stone. The featured faceted oval shape amethyst weighs approximately 26 carats and is set with a profusion of prongs—16 in total—surrounded by 27 pearls accented with a scalloped border with milgrain, and 12 oval shape amethysts arranged lengthwise with an approximate weight of 16.2 carats total. The outer halo of smaller amethysts beautifully mirrors the center stone in cut and proportion, set similarly in 14K yellow gold with many prongs, this time 8 per stone. Amethyst and seed pearls were among the most popular gemstones used during the 19th century with two noted gem cutting styles including the rose-cut, a round shape with a domed top and flat bottom, and the cabochon, with a rounded top and flat bottom. The shapes of the gems in this necklace pay homage to these cuts in look and silhouette. The purple variety of crystalline quartz, amethyst was a popular jewel for its velvety richness and deep color in the Victorian period of romance and sentimentality. When Queen Victoria wore a mauve silk gown to the Royal Exhibition in 1862, heart shape amethyst jewelry became fashionable as love tokens. The pendant is attached to a beautifully crafted 22-inch (55.88 cm) chain of textured wide links, embellished with one larger oval amethyst weighing approximately 3.3 carats and set lengthwise. Single amethyst beads, each flanked by two pearls, adorn the chain at intervals for a total of ten 5 x 5 mm amethyst beads and twenty 2-3 mm pearls. The pendant is 1.75 inches in length (4.45 cm). Necklace measures approx. 22” in length. Pendant measures approx. 1.75” in length. Amethysts are a vivid purple color denominated Siberian. The largest oval shape amethyst on the pendant is about 26 carats and is surrounded by 27 pearls, and 12 smaller oval shape amethysts totaling approximately to 16.2 carats. Pendant is attached to a beautifully crafted chain that is embellished with 1 larger 3.3 carat oval amethyst, 20 pearls...