Art Deco Brooch With Natural Pearls & Diamonds, c. 1930

"When the shell rises from its resting-place to the surface of the sea, it opens and receives heavenly dew, and on this the sun's rays play; so it happens that in a stone such a precious, shining pearl grows, received from the heavenly dew and made to gleam by the rays of the sun." So says the Aberdeen Bestiary, a medieval animal poem of the 1300's The explanation that pearls are formed by dew dripping into the mussel was the current state of knowledge for many centuries. It was not until the 19th century that it was discovered that the formation of the pearl is triggered by other factors, mostly by small injuries to the mantle tissue of the mussel. Nevertheless, the association between pearl and dewdrop can be understood, as an iridescent shimmer glides over both. The four natural pearls in the centre of this brooch demonstrate the entire spectrum of this special jewel. Their colours range from light apricot to a creamy white with a cool rose-coloured overlay and two pearls with a delicate dove-grey base colour and a lavender and greenish iridescent overlay. The pearls are at the centre of a typical design from the heyday of Art Déco. The elongated brooch is interspersed with curved openings, the edges of which are structured with fine milgrain. Diamonds in old cuts sparkle on every point of the surface. Originally worked in platinum on gold, the brooch was plated with rhodium by a previous owner to give it a uniform white appearance. The brooch came to us incomplete. We added the four pearls in our workshop; the brooch was probably already fitted with pearls when it was made. These are natural pearls from an old collection, the collection of a jeweller, which we were lucky enough to be able to purchase for such purposes a few years ago.

Estimate:£1,928.28

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