Victorian Gold & Pearl Pendant Brooch, England c. 1900

Stars are classics in the history of jewellery - the celestial bodies can be found in all kinds of shapes, materials and designs. This piece, made from 15-karat yellow gold, is designed as a star with six points. The surface of the piece of jewellery is set with softly shimmering natural pearls. Additional pearls are set between the points of the star to enhance the magnificent impression. The history of jewelry in the second half of the 20th century is full of stars. The diamond stars of the Austrian Empress Sisi, for example, are famous. Her most famous portrait, painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, shows the young empress with a multitude of radiant diamond stars in her flowing dark hair, which were specially made for her by the Viennese court jeweler A. E. Köchert. After this portrait was published in the press, there was no stopping the ladies: every woman who could afford it wanted to come into possession of at least one such precious star in order to follow the fashion demonstrated by the empress. A look at contemporary catalogs shows the wide range of stars that were on display in jewellers' shops at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. For comparison, we have reproduced a page from a 1904 catalog of B. & H. B. Kent, Diamond Merchants and Jewelers from Toronto. It can also be viewed online and offered numerous variations on this theme to interested customers. Browse through the pages, it is exciting to see how many different and yet similar versions of this design idea were available at the time. We discovered the star in London. It can be worn both as a pendant and as a brooch.

Estimate:$1,675.57

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