Identifying vintage Jewelry @ Jewel Info 4 U
Introduction: Estate
jewelry or vintage jewelry is often
known as period jewelry too. Jewelry
thus classified may belong to many
eras such as Georgian, Victorian and
Art Nouveau. What do all these terms
mean? How do you identify which era
a particular piece of jewelry
belongs to? We search for answers
for all these questions and come up
with some interesting insights in
the process.
Historians and jewelry professionals
are divided as to the exact time
period each era lasted. But for
clarity's sake we will skip rigid
timelines and dates adhering instead
to general periods. Another
important thing to be aware of is
that not even an expert who has been
dealing in antiques and vintage
jewelry for years can say with
perfect assurance what era a piece
may belong to unless it comes with
provenance and/or is signed. This is
due to the fact that many of the
eras overlap, many jewelry
manufacturers have copied vintage
pieces convincingly and also many a
times a piece may be a mix of two
styles or eras. So what is a jewelry
lover to do? The first step is read
up! Knowing as much as you can about
these pieces and seeing as many
examples of the work you can will
help you in understanding the
jewelry even if you may not be able
to identify it conclusively. And
when you do decide you buy after
research and taking expert advice,
you can always go in for a second
opinion to be sure. So, let's get
started!
Georgian jewelry
The earliest style recognized as
period jewelry is Georgian jewelry.
Named after the English monarch King
George and subsequent heirs this
period of specific jewelry design
lasted from sometime in the early
1700 till mid 1800s. This style of
jewelry was defined by hand-made
ornate and intricate pieces and has
left behind such legacies as the
chandelier earrings and three strand
concentric necklace. In keeping with
the opulence of the times, diamonds
were the choice of gemstones in this
period. Filigree (using thin wires
to create lacy, openwork designs)
and repousse (working at the back of
the metal to create a raised pattern
at the face) techniques were used
extensively.
Victorian jewelry
(Romantic Period)
The Georgian Era was followed by
the Victorian era- thus named
after Queen Victoria was crowned
in 1837. The early Victorian
years were also referred to as
the 'Romantic Period'. The
designs in this era combined
many different styles to fit the
idea of purity, innocence and
romanticism. The motifs used
were floral, avian, or other
nature-inspired themes like
fruit and creatures. By the end
of the Romantic period agate (a
type of banded quartz) and
Celtic motifs were being used
abundantly in lockets and
pendants. Cameo brooches carved
from agate, sardonyx or conch
shells were popular items of
this time. This era was not high
on precious stones and diamonds,
instead Wedgewood ceramic,
Limoges enamel painting and
glass gemstones were used in
jewelry.
Victorian jewelry (Grand
Period)
A new period of mourning known
as the mid-Victorian or Grand
period followed the Romantic
period. This period coincides
with the death of the Queen's
husband and so the jewelry is
more of a mourning jewelry type.
It consisted of dark, melancholy
shades of red, purple and black
set with stones such as black
onyx, garnet, amethyst and jet.
Victorian jewelry (Aesthetic
Period)
After the mid-Victorian period
it was the "late Victorian"
period (also known as
the Aesthetic Period) that lasted
till 1900. In this era, the
design which was burdened by
dark mourning jewelry escaped to
a brighter and more fun place.
Diamonds came back in a big way
as new mines were discovered in
Africa. Multi-colored gemstones
such as spinel, sapphire and
peridot were used in heavenly
body-inspired designs such as
stars and crescents.
Arts and Crafts jewelry
From the late 1800 till the
beginning of the 1900 the
Industrial revolution inspired
jewelry known as arts and crafts
jewelry flourished. Jewelry
during this era was simple,
nature inspired and not very
extravagant-either in choice of
metals or gemstones. Copper,
brass and silver was used,
rather than gold and gemstones
were used more for their bright
colors and aesthetic appeal
rather than monetary value.
Pearls, moonstones, opals and
turquoise were popular during
this time.
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