Posted 8 years ago
Peasejean55
(413 items)
I think this is a French Victorian Lavalier necklace, it's a Christmas present to myself. It was extremely difficult to photo, I just couldn't get the stones to shimmer. The pendant is of a floral design with 41 brilliant old cut round cushion, octagonal and hexagonal shape diamonds, I did test them and they did test as diamonds, although they could be synthetic. The back is gold I think, I'm in the U.K. and I'm not able to test as I haven't got my acid testing kit, from the photo of the back the gold looks very light, but It does look darker then the photo, the diamonds are set in silver, which was the method used before platinum came into use. The chain Is platinum and handmade. So my question is, is this necklace Victorian, Edwardian and would I be correct in thinking it is French, there are no markings at all.
Merry Christmas to all my CW friends.
Many thanks for looking.
Very beautiful. Too you and your family have a joyful holiday stay warm and safe. And looking forward to your xmas posts.
So lovely - it's just gorgeous. I like that it's not completely symmetrical. Am wondering why there are two different chain styles? Perhaps the piece is too heavy to be held in place by the longer chain style.
How's the weather where you are in the U.K.?
Thank you so very much for your comment Caperkid. I will be posting after Christmas. I'm travelling to be with my mum for New Year, I usually send most of my pieces to her as it's cheaper than posting to Spain.
Hi Gillian the necklace chain as been added, that why there is a difference.
I'm in the South of England at the moment, it's not that bad, hurricane Barbara is going to be hitting the North of England and Scotland tonight, so it will be batten down the hatches I think. Thanks for taking the time to leave your comments, your always welcome.
BEAUTIFUL!!! Looks very Victorian! Merry Christmas to you!!
Thanks Scott, I'm more inclined to think it is Victorian but it could also be Edwardian or even Art Deco. All the very best to you and your family for Christmas and New Year
Gorgeous and Merry Christmas to you and your family !
Awwww thank you Manikin, same to you and your family.
Just beautiful Jean.......and have a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year!
Thank you Judy, all the very best to you and your family.
Hi Jean, lovely piece and looks like it's a nice impressive size.
The diamond at the top appears to be a reasonably large (5mm + ?) old mine cushion cut, so they are very likely to be genuine earth-mined diamonds.
The synthetic or simulant diamonds that test positive on a diamond tester will not be hand-cut in old mine style, as that would be way too expensive, they're almost always mass produced machine cut brilliants.
The platinum chain is also a positive sign. My only concern is the pendant construction and diamond settings don't look quite as fine as one would expect in a Victorian/Edwardian piece.
There is a lot of imitation Victorian jewellery coming out of India with low quality heavily included (I 3 or lower grades) real diamonds in cast settings.
However if the diamonds are reasonably eye-clean under a loupe then I'd say you've got real antique lavalier, probably from somewhere in Europe.
MERRY CHRISTMAS and happy hunting in the New Year!
Very nice pendant and chain!
I'm with Paul for the diamonds being natural :-)
Edwardian style with flowers and garland, I don't think French, it should be marked, and the pierced work isn't very neatly done.
Hi Paul, I hope you have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
I'm currently in Colchester, out of curiosity I went to a jewellers who my friend uses. He more or less said the same thing as yourself, he said that there is a lot of antique imitation jewellery coming out of India. I asked if this pendant was original but he didn't want to commit himself as people have threatened to sue him even though it as only verbal conversation. On the positive side the diamonds are real and he said it was a pretty pendant, I told him how much I paid for it and he throught it was a reasonable price.
Hi kyra, thanks for your comment. In the comment above to Paul, you see the conversation I had with the jeweller, he also mentioned the same as you and Paul, about the piercing work.
I wish you and your family all the very best for Christmas and New Year.
Congrats, you have finally found a jeweler who knows what he's talking about. Bring him a Christmas / Hanukah gift and use that guy from now on when you can.
Davyd, wise advice;-)
Jean, for comparison, pierced work on my antique swallow brooch, last pic:
http://cf.collectorsweekly.com/stories/oO8CaA7Pviq0dhlzvJ48-g.jpg
davyd lol, I don't live in the U.K. So therefore I don't have jewellers who are knowledgeable about antique jewellery, that is why I post my jewellery on Collectors Weekly. I don't always get it wrong. Kyra I do see the difference and thanks for posting
Update on this necklace. Currently I'm staying in my home town in the North of England. While I was there I went to my local market where there is a stall that sells antique/vintage pieces. I was looking at some really lovely things, I did buy two pieces. Out of curiosity I asked the stall holder if he had any idea about this necklace, interestly he throught it was the real deal. He told me he throught the pendant itself could be platinum and as given me a place where they would test without harming the pendant. He also he was willing to buy from me at a profit, I
declined. If I have the time I'll get it tested, the place is about a 60 minute journey from my home town. If it is platinum, it does rule out that it is Georgian, but it could be early 1900s or Art Deco period. I shall let you know.
Oops made a bit of a mess with some of the wording above, So I'll start again. The stall holder was willing to pay me double of what I paid, which I have to admit made me feel better. I declined because it's my special baby, I love wearing it. Now I really want to know at least if it is platinum it narrows down the time line.
This is very beautiful! Did I share a link with you on a jewelry set? There's a ring, necklace and bracelet I believe it's those three. When I saw them and after I stopped drooling, I thought of you...they were made by Niels Frome.
Thank you shareurpassion, for your comment, it is a pretty pendant. I've been looking for Niels Frome, but I cant find anything about him. I would appreciate if you could send me your link. :-))
Beautiful! it is such a treat to buy yourself present, 'cuz it's "just what you wanted!"
Thank you buttonjunkie, yes it's great to buy what you want, luckily this came along and it was love at first sight.
Update.
Decided to go to my local jeweller here in Clitheroe, I've used him before. I decided to get a third opinion. I asked him if he could test the pendant for platinum without acid testing, he said no. He was very kind and took a look for me, here is what he said. The pendant is late Victorian to Edwardian, the setting is Silver with a gold backing typical of that period. I asked if it Could be a reproduction, he said definitely no, I asked about the pierced back work, he explained this would be how it would look as it was all handmade and therefore would not have been prefect. He also said a lot of jeweller do not take kindly to a person coming from the street and asking for their opinions, especially if they have been bought from eBay, so they can give a opinion that they know you might not like.
Great update Jean!
I bought a Victorian necklace yesterday. I asked the jeweller if he would take look at this pendant, which he kindly did. So his verdict was that the pendant was probably made around 1910, which would made it Edwardian, he commented on the diamonds being of good quality there was a small chip the large top diamond, but on the all the pendant was a very nice piece. I suppose the moral of this story is you don't always go with what one jeweller says, in this case I did take it to 4 different people 2 of which came to the same conclusion. So I'm happy now to solve this post.
Love your new CW picture beautiful! :)
Hi Jean, great to hear about the good quality diamonds which I agree solves the mystery.
As I said above those imitation antique pieces coming out of India all have cheap low quality heavily included diamonds, which is one of the "tells" for the Indian stuff.
Since yours has good diamonds it must be a genuine piece, you'll never find quality diamonds in an imitation piece. Congratulations looks like you made a great score with this one!
Hi Jean.....very happy for you....it is a very beautiful necklace!!!
I am going to post 2 pieces of Georgian Reproduction that I bought fully knowing that they were copies, just so you can see the difference.........
Hi Judy, I'd be very interested to see your reproduction pieces. Also I think as you say it would help other people in recognizing the difference between the real thing and reproductions, which at times can be very difficult. This post as been very interesting for me.
Posted now Jean......
Thank Caperkid, that photo was taken in Ingleton, North Yorkshire over the New Year. :-)
Hi Paul, thanks for your valuable information. I must admit I was in to minds as to whether it was the real deal or a imitation. It's been quite a learning curve for me and has been interesting in how you get different information from people who are in the jewellery game. Maybe there is a lesson to be learn't, get a second opinion, it maybe worth it.
Many thanks
Hel1
Dragonflypearl
jscott
antiquerose
vetraio
aura
bijoucaillouvintage
Manikin
TassieDevil
kiwipaul
mikelv
kyra
beyemvey
martika
vintagelamp
shareurpassion
Master
Efesgirl
Caperkid
At the risk of getting you upset I stand by what I said earlier about the pendant (without seeing the diamonds up close). But I seem to be dissenting from the majority (not counting the folks who are way more polite than myself and therefore, are refraining from contributing), and anyway, in the long run it's not anyone else's but solely your own opinion and the ability to get enjoyment from the precious possession that counts.
Hi Davyd, your opinion is noted. I can not do more than I have done. The jewellers I went to all sell antiques. I have 4 individual people they all had different things to say granted. 2 of them said more or less the same thing, 1 said it maybe platinum but he thought it was real and the one in Colchester said he thought it was an imitation but wasn't sure. I would be more than happy for you to give me some suggestions.
You can choose to have it professionally tested/appraised, not just looked at. If it's antique platinum, it would be well worth it. Or choose to do nothing and it'll stay what you believe it to be. Everyone decides for themselves what's more important. You're the "master & commander".
To be honest davdy, I have done my fair share of having stones tested which cost a lot of money. I've been through the Westminster archives, if you look at my Liberty & Co Brooch you'll see the effort I went to. To have things valued here in the U.K. can cost a lot of money it's a percentage of what the pieces are worth, a lot of the valuers often add so they make more money. At the moment I'm happy, maybe in the future I might have it valued. I do see your point of view.
I see. In the US some appraisers charge a percentage but others charge by the hour. I agree that earning a percentage of the item value may be an incentive for some to jack up the declared value. I wonder what they do if a person's item turns out to be for example, a mass produced tourist souvenir of minimal value (present company excluded, of course)? Would their fee be 5 cents? Anyway, all we do here is look at pictures on the screen, that's all, and everyone gets it wrong sometimes (myself included), so keep that in mind. Best regards.
Many thanks
bijoucaillouvintage
I took this necklace to be valued and basically he said the piece was made between 1900 - 1910 I put a photo of what he said about this necklace.