In the catalogue it notes that the jewels are made of gold; there is no mention of silver. That could be a mistake however, as in the description of the large emerald brooch which was sold, the catalogue also says it is made of gold; yet, the photos clearly show that the diamonds have been set in silver.
One of the things which surprised me was to see a white metal setting around the sapphires, as my understanding is that coloured stones like emeralds and sapphires were set in yellow gold at the time.
For example as in the tiara of the Duchess of Angouleme.
I was perplexed by images of the back of the tiara until I read the report, which states that the colour of the sapphires has been influenced by blue enamel in the setting.
For that comment see the report in image 5 of this entry https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-early-19th-century-important-sapphire-and-diamond-6315872/?from=salesummary&intObjectID=6315872&lid=1
It must be that the stones are partially resting on blue enamel. See image 2 https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-early-19th-century-important-sapphire-and-diamond-6315872/?from=salesummary&intObjectID=6315872&lid=1
What do others think?
186
Responses
« Back to index | View thread »