Antique Bangle Made of Bohemian Garnets, c. 1890

For centuries, garnets have been used in jewellery because of their deep, warm red colour. Large individual stones can already be found in the colourful jewels of the Baroque and Rococo periods. However, the style of garnet jewellery that we associate most closely with Bohemia today developed primarily during the 19th century. Small, faceted stones were set closely together to form flowers, stars, and flat ornaments. The intense red of the numerous garnets combined to form an almost solid, sparkling surface. A particularly beautiful example of these jewellery fashions is this bangle from the late 19th century. It is set with numerous Bohemian garnets of a beautiful, uniform colour. The rose-cut stones cover the bangle densely, forming a pavé that runs all the way around it. The design widens slightly in the center, where the garnets are arranged in a geometric pattern of opposing triangles. In keeping with the style of the era, the stones are set in tombac, a copper-rich brass alloy that was frequently used for Bohemian garnet jewellery in the 19th century. On the front, the metal recedes almost entirely into the background. Thus, the effect is determined solely by the densely set stones, and the bangle appears as a continuous band of dark red, vividly sparkling garnets.

Estimate:$661.07

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