Watches and Watch Fobs

Watch design and style has changed over the centuries, beginning in the 16th century, when the first personal watches were made. Although much smaller than a clock, they were still significantly larger than the wristwatches people wear today and were typically worn on a chain around one's neck. It wasn’t until the 17th century that pocket watches became popular - and then only for men. Pocket watches were commonly attached to chains in order to keep the watch safe and easily accessible. In the Victorian era, pocket watches became increasingly stylish, and it was common for a man to carry a watch in his waistcoat. Watch fobs, also referred to simply as fobs, were attached to the other end of the chain and worn as decoration. These fashionable accessories were often intricately and beautifully made. Some were set with stones (most commonly agate, carnelian, and citrine), and others were engraved, often with seals. Pocket watches fell out of fashion by the late 1800s in favor of wristwatches, but fobs can still be fabulous: they are perfect for use today worn as a necklace on a chain or as a charm on a bracelet! See what you think of these fobs from Prather Beeland and check out a few more on our website. 

English Fob- set with carnelian
http://www.pratherbeeland.com/product_details.cfm?ID=36

Gold Filled Victorian Fob

Initials Engraved on Gold Filled Victorian Fob

Another Gold Filled Victorian Fob (also has engraved initials)
http://www.pratherbeeland.com/product_details.cfm?ID=86

Turquoise!

Here at Prather Beeland, we love turquoise! Turquoise was particularly popular in Victorian era jewelry, either alone or with diamonds or pearls. Persian turquoise was most often used for pieces of this period, and turquoise continues to be mined in Iran, as well as Egypt, China, and the American Southwest. In these regions, home to some of the world's oldest cultures, people have been wearing and using turquoise for millennia, and often believed it to have holistic and spiritual powers. Europeans were first introduced to turquoise through the Silk Road trade routes, but it remained rare in Europe until the Late Middle Ages. Turquoise saw a renewed popularity in the 19th and early 20th centuries, in part due to the public's fascination with archeological discoveries being made in Egypt. This semi-precious stone can be dressed up or down and looks great with everything. For a perfect little pop of color, try a turquoise ring - see a few below!

5 Stone Turquoise Ring

Seed Pearl and Turquoise-Horseshoe Design

Turquoise and Old Mine Cut Diamonds

More Costume Jewelry

In my last entry, I wrote about gold filled jewelry, which is considered costume jewelry rather than fine jewelry, and I've got costume jewelry on the brain again this week after my recent visit to the Museum of Arts and Design for an truly fantastic exhibit of costume jewelry. The exhibit, titled Fashion Jewelry: The Collection of Barbara Berger, contained hundreds of pieces of costume jewelry made during the 20^th century, as well as a group of more recent items. Fashion houses like Yves Saint Laurent and Dior designed and made many of the pieces. Other pieces were made by artists and talented craftsmen who made a name for themselves in costume jewelry, like those at New York company Trifari. The skills to make costume jewelry are quite similar as those to make fine jewelry, and the exhibit reminded me again why design and craftsmanship make jewelry beautiful, not just the materials used to make it. Berger’s pieces are exquisitely made and objects of true beauty. It was a pleasure to visit the exhibit, not only to see such an astounding collection, but to remember that a beautiful piece can always be worth adding to your collection, whether fine jewelry or costume. See below for some of the stunning pieces on display. 

William Delillo (USA) c. 1970 Glass, Lucite, Metal

William Delillo (USA) c. 1969 Glass, Metal

Top: Trifari (USA) c. 1940 Fruit Salad Bracelet, Glass, Metal
Bottom: Trifari TKF (USA) c. 1938 Glass, Metal

Schreiner (USA) c. 1960 Glass, Simulated Pearls, Metal

Gold Filled Jewels

Gold filled jewelry is abundant at Prather Beeland, and I wanted to share with you why we love it! 

Gold filled jewelry is a great and less expensive way to start collecting antique pieces. In the Victorian era, gold was expensive, but skilled craftsmen were not, allowing for beautiful pieces made with impeccable attention to detail but more affordable than pieces made of solid gold. Although the price tag made gold filled jewelry popular with middle class Victorians, the level of craftsmanship and time put into these pieces made them desirable to aristocrats and royalty as well. 

Gold filled jewelry is made using a rolled out layer of gold that is bonded to a base metal, often brass, with heat and pressure. This process leaves the pieces with a thicker layer of gold on the exterior compared to electroplating, a dipping technique that adds a very thin exterior layer of gold using electric currents.  Antique gold filled items have beautiful patina that comes with age, but the gold does not easily wear like gold plated items do.

Below are just some of the gold filled pieces available at Prather Beeland - we hope you'll love them as much as we do!

All About Paste

Paste has for centuries been a popular and beautiful material used in costume jewelry. Made of flint glass, paste can be either clear or colored. In better quality paste pieces, like these Victorian English earrings, the stones are faceted and polished. Although more fragile than diamonds and other gemstones, paste still sparkles and has beautiful radiance. These earrings are 9K gold with three- part clusters of blue paste. Antique paste is highly collectible today and continues to be a wonderful substitute for diamonds and gemstones.

French jeweler Georges Frederic Strass invented clear paste in 1724, and it soon became all the rage, spreading in popularity to other countries, England in particular. Paste continued to be made through the 20th century, and was desirable in its own right, not just as a replacement for higher value stones. Pieces of lesser value were not made with less skill and craftsmanship. Jewelry continued to be made to the highest standards. These pieces were also not made for a lower class: royal and aristocratic woman wore paste pieces as well as their finer sets of jewels. Strass’s work was so admired in the court of Louis XIV of France that he was named the “King’s Jeweler,” and Marie Antoinette further popularized paste jewelry by wearing it at court.

            

Throughout history, people have been fascinated with recreating finer materials with less expensive options. These earrings represent a time of inventiveness in jewelry making and continue to be a fun, beautiful alternative!

Georgian Gold Earrings

These earrings are such a beautiful example of jewelry from the Georgian period. Jewelry of this time was almost always made of at least 18K gold. Georgian jewelers were highly skilled and always made their pieces by hand, either by hammering the metal or using a rolling mill. I believe these to have been made on a rolling mill, as they are perfectly smooth. Rolling mills were used to make sheets of metals in varying thickness in order to make the metal smooth and easier to work with to create a final product. Once the metal was flattened, it would be formed into the piece. Earrings like these would be made using a sheet and therefore are hollow in the inside and quite light – perfect for painless wear! These are shaped in what is known as a torpedo – a long teardrop shape that was commonly used during this time. After pieces were formed, decoration could then be added.

The earrings have floral motifs around the end as well as a tiered design at the bottom. The technique is called cannetille, which is similar to filigree work. Both use very thin metal wires – here 18K gold – to create designs on a piece. Cannetille was a popular technique in the late Georgian period, but also continued into the Victorian era. The gold wire was often curled up, creating designs like those on these earrings, where the wire has been formed to look like small openwork flowers and coils. The wire is adhered by soldering it to the base of a piece. Granulation (a technique described previously on this blog) is often used on top of cannetille to add small beads onto a piece. Granulation can be seen in the center of each flower as well as the very tip of the earring. Jewelry from this time in excellent condition is quite rare. These earrings are a beautiful example of the period and show the true skill of Georgian artisans. 

Year of the Snake

Last month, the Chinese welcomed the Year of the Snake, and I'm joining the celebration by feature two snake rings from Prather Beeland. The first is an original from the Victorian era, while the second is what I call an “updated antique”: a stick pin in it's turn of the century incarnation, I've made it into a ring to give it a new life.

Snakes have been a common motif in religion, myths, and the arts for millennia. They became popular again for jewelry in the mid-Victorian era, when Albert gave Queen Victoria a snake ring as her engagement ring. It was typical at the time for engagement rings to be set with the bride’s birthstone, so Queen Victoria's snake had an emerald head. Snakes, a symbol for eternal love, were a perfect motif for an engagement ring and other jewelry. The first ring is 14K with two diamonds set in the heads of each snake. It is a classic example of a Victorian snake ring, with pointed heads and engraving on the heads and bodies. They coil into each other making the two bodies become one, furthering the idea of eternity. The second ring, although still using the popular snake motif, most likely came from a different influence. In the late 19th century to early 20th century, people were captivated by the controversial ideas of Charles Darwin. His interest in evolution and the living world created an interest in jewelry made to look like bugs and animals. This ring seems more likely to have been part of this trend. In the early-to-mid Victorian era, jewelry had been made to capture the candlelight, but by the late Victorian era, gas lamps were in use, and it was time for jewelers to take note. Lighter stones, like the demantoid garnets used in this ring, were much better at catching the light.

Both snake pieces show the reoccurring popularity and multifaceted symbolism of the creatures. They have been used throughout history and across cultures, and it is without a doubt that snakes continue to capture our imagination today. Beautiful in appearance and meaning, snakes are a great way to remain modern while wearing antiques!