Antique Star Brooch with 2.68 ct Diamonds in Gold & Silver, ca. 1890

Jewellery made of diamonds was in former times mainly reserved for the nobility. This was not only due to the special preciousness of the stones, which before the discovery of the large deposits in Brazil and South America were much rarer and therefore more precious than today! The occasions on which diamond jewelry could be worn were also more or less reserved for the nobility: grand balls, opera performances and soirées were open only to members of court society, until in the course of the 19th century the middle classes slowly conquered these places of social life. Despite this change, some jewelry motifs remained inseparable from some special crowned heads to this day. One of them is the star brooch made of diamonds, which above all others brought fame and honor to Elisabeth of Austria, "Sisi". Unusually, Sisi wore the stars, made by the court jeweler Köchert, in her famous dark hair. Probably the best-known portrait of Sisi, painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter in 1865, shows the young empress with a multitude of radiant diamond stars in her flowing hair. Such a piece from the end of the 19th century we have before us here. It is a six-pointed star, the center of which is occupied by a wonderful old-cut diamond of about 0.28 ct. Fifty-four other old and rose cut diamonds set the rest of the surface of the jewelry sparkling in bright white. Since this piece of jewelry dates back to an era when white gold had not yet been invented and platinum was known but not yet satisfactorily worked, the diamonds, totaling about 2.68 ct, were effectively set in silver. The reverse side, however, is worked in gold, so that no metal would rub off even on precious fabrics. In later times, the entire brooch was then additionally provided with an overlay of rhodium. Therefore, the brooch today shines uniformly bright white and can no longer tarnish.

Estimate:$5,897.60

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