Magnificent Pendant with 5.25 ct Diamonds in Silver on Gold, c. 1850

This pendant brings great joy - because it seems to consist of nothing but sparkling light. Here, around 5.25 ct of diamonds are set close together in silver. Their antique cuts refract the light in a soft, sensual way, full of warm fire. It seems as if a large snowflake, an ice crystal or a sparkling star is floating in front of us. The arrangement of the stones follows a calm symmetry that lends the composition a solemn effect. We see a cross whose shape is derived from the Maltese cross. Jewelry with Maltese crosses was a great fashion in the first half of the 19th century, especially in Great Britain. Its symmetrical, compact shape obviously suited the taste of the time for closed, dense designs. The cuts of the diamonds and the type of settings are typical of the same period. The stones are all cut very individually, in the so-called "Old Mine Cut", but also in other, more angular cuts that are still related to the Peruzzi cut. We therefore date the cross to around 1850, before the discovery of diamond deposits in South Africa in 1866. Jewelry with diamonds was much more valuable back then than it is today. Diamonds were mined in Brazil and India alone at that time, but admittedly in much smaller numbers, and when diamond jewellery was created, it was a special privilege. The pendant loop, which was renewed in the late 19th century, is designed so that the pendant can also be worn on a pearl necklace. We purchased the pendant together with the accompanying platinum chain. It was created somewhat later, in the first decades of the 20th century. The pendant comes with an independent appraisal. We were able to acquire the piece of jewellery in Vienna.

Estimate:£14,423.32

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