Exquisite Brooch with Natural Pearl & Diamonds, Paris c. 1910

Do you ever imagine what it would be like to have been born earlier? A whole century earlier and in Paris? Think of the magnificent Opera Garnier, the new grand boulevards that Haussmann carved into the city, where splendor and wealth went hand in hand. The ladies in the Moulin Rouge swing their legs in their red tights, the men wear tails and champagne wets their lips, the ladies expelling its carbon dioxide from their glasses with a small golden whisk. This exquisite bar brooch was probably part of this hustle and bustle, as it dates from precisely this period and was made in Paris. It is a true testimony to these years at the beginning of the 20th century and to how beautiful and magnificent this era must have been if you belonged to the right social class. The elegant brooch from the so-called "Belle Époque" presents 26 diamonds in a glittering row. A shimmering natural pearl forms the center of the elegant composition. The bar brooch made of high-carat gold is covered with a layer of fine platinum, the most precious metal at the time, which had only been introduced to jewelry making by Louis Cartier a few years earlier. The new salons, which were no longer lit by gaslight or candles but by the new electric light, required diamonds to be set in translucent settings, which was easier to achieve with the particularly hard platinum than with softer gold. With the wonderfully understated elegance and presence of its time of origin, this highly elegant brooch is a wonderful combination of the materials used here. Let yourself be seduced into a bygone era!

Estimate:$2,462.75

View all items fromHofer AntikschmuckorJewelry & Gems