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Vintage Cabochon Costume Jewelry
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When a gemstone is hard enough to polish but too soft to facet as precisely as a diamond, sapphire, or ruby, it is often fashioned into a rounded or oval cabochon, with a flat back so it sits securely in its setting. In the world of fine jewelry,...
When a gemstone is hard enough to polish but too soft to facet as precisely as a diamond, sapphire, or ruby, it is often fashioned into a rounded or oval cabochon, with a flat back so it sits securely in its setting. In the world of fine jewelry, agate, amber, jade, opal, and turquoise are commonly formed into big, eye-catching cabochons. Similarly, in the realm of costume jewelry, glass, paste, and plastics such as Lucite can be polished into luminous globes and domes.
One of the earliest forms of costume jewelry to make use of cabochons was the cut-steel jewelry of the Georgian period. In that era, white mother-of-pearl cabochons were set within necklaces. By the next century, during the Victorian Era after the death in Prince Albert in 1861, black jet cabochons were worn for decades as a sign of mourning.
During the 20th century, Vendome, Coro's top-of-the-line brand, combined rounded crystal cabochons with faceted glass in earrings and bracelets, while Miriam Haskell surrounded the luminous cabochons in her necklaces with swarms of sparkling rhinestones.
In fact, costume-jewelry designers of the last century ignored cabochons at their economic and aesthetic peril. Coco Chanel, who was rightly famous for her trademark suits and perfume, also produced a great deal of costume jewelry, often using glass cabochons of red, green, and blue that were ringed with faux pearls. Christian Dior was not above the occasional fake sapphire cabochon in the center of a swirl of faux pearls and rhinestones, while Adolph Katz of the aforementioned Coro used white Lucite at the center of his Jelly Belly brooches.
Kenneth Jay Lane was a fan, whether it was incorporating cabochons into earrings or pendants, as was Marcel Boucher, who favored turquoise-colored cabochons made of paste. While cabochons were generally too plain for Elsa Schiaparelli or Stanley Hagler, they suited designers at Sarah Coventry, as well as Alfred Philippe of Trifari, whose large crown pins relied on them heavily.
Continue readingWhen a gemstone is hard enough to polish but too soft to facet as precisely as a diamond, sapphire, or ruby, it is often fashioned into a rounded or oval cabochon, with a flat back so it sits securely in its setting. In the world of fine jewelry, agate, amber, jade, opal, and turquoise are commonly formed into big, eye-catching cabochons. Similarly, in the realm of costume jewelry, glass, paste, and plastics such as Lucite can be polished into luminous globes and domes.
One of the earliest forms of costume jewelry to make use of cabochons was the cut-steel jewelry of the Georgian period. In that era, white mother-of-pearl cabochons were set within necklaces. By the next century, during the Victorian Era after the death in Prince Albert in 1861, black jet cabochons were worn for decades as a sign of mourning.
During the 20th century, Vendome, Coro's top-of-the-line brand, combined rounded crystal cabochons with faceted glass in earrings and bracelets, while Miriam Haskell surrounded the luminous cabochons in her necklaces with swarms of sparkling rhinestones.
In fact, costume-jewelry designers of the last century ignored cabochons at their economic and aesthetic peril. Coco Chanel, who was rightly famous for her trademark suits and perfume, also produced a great deal of costume jewelry, often using glass cabochons of red, green, and blue that were ringed with faux pearls. Christian Dior was not above the occasional fake sapphire cabochon in the center of a swirl of faux pearls and rhinestones, while Adolph Katz of the aforementioned Coro used white Lucite at the center of his Jelly Belly brooches.
Kenneth Jay Lane was a fan, whether it was incorporating cabochons into earrings or pendants, as was Marcel Boucher, who favored turquoise-colored cabochons made of paste. While cabochons were generally too plain for Elsa Schiaparelli or Stanley Hagler, they suited designers at Sarah Coventry, as well as Alfred Philippe of Trifari, whose large crown pins...
When a gemstone is hard enough to polish but too soft to facet as precisely as a diamond, sapphire, or ruby, it is often fashioned into a rounded or oval cabochon, with a flat back so it sits securely in its setting. In the world of fine jewelry, agate, amber, jade, opal, and turquoise are commonly formed into big, eye-catching cabochons. Similarly, in the realm of costume jewelry, glass, paste, and plastics such as Lucite can be polished into luminous globes and domes.
One of the earliest forms of costume jewelry to make use of cabochons was the cut-steel jewelry of the Georgian period. In that era, white mother-of-pearl cabochons were set within necklaces. By the next century, during the Victorian Era after the death in Prince Albert in 1861, black jet cabochons were worn for decades as a sign of mourning.
During the 20th century, Vendome, Coro's top-of-the-line brand, combined rounded crystal cabochons with faceted glass in earrings and bracelets, while Miriam Haskell surrounded the luminous cabochons in her necklaces with swarms of sparkling rhinestones.
In fact, costume-jewelry designers of the last century ignored cabochons at their economic and aesthetic peril. Coco Chanel, who was rightly famous for her trademark suits and perfume, also produced a great deal of costume jewelry, often using glass cabochons of red, green, and blue that were ringed with faux pearls. Christian Dior was not above the occasional fake sapphire cabochon in the center of a swirl of faux pearls and rhinestones, while Adolph Katz of the aforementioned Coro used white Lucite at the center of his Jelly Belly brooches.
Kenneth Jay Lane was a fan, whether it was incorporating cabochons into earrings or pendants, as was Marcel Boucher, who favored turquoise-colored cabochons made of paste. While cabochons were generally too plain for Elsa Schiaparelli or Stanley Hagler, they suited designers at Sarah Coventry, as well as Alfred Philippe of Trifari, whose large crown pins relied on them heavily.
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With its vast galleries featuring clear images of jewelry and style, this site really covers it...
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