Antique Brooch with 16.45 ct Aquamarine & Diamonds, c. 1905

A sparkling, precious aquamarine weighing 16.45 ct is the centrepiece of this jewel. A wave-like band of diamonds in platinum unfolds around it, lending the piece a light, playful look despite its size and weight. The preciousness and design of the brooch not only tell us that it was a piece of jewellery for the evening. We also know roughly what impression its wearer once wanted to create: That of poetic, delicate and ethereal beauty, the ideal of the years around 1900 – for in the early 20th century it was fashionable to choose evening jewels to match the colour of the dress. Pink topazes would have been worn with pink fabrics, amethysts with violet ones, and aquamarines with particularly delicate, light blue fabrics. For example, an article called "In Tints of the Sea" appeared in the American "The Clinton Mirror" in the spring of 1904, describing a dress that a fashionable lady had specially made for her aquamarine jewellery: "A woman who prides herself upon her taste and originality in dress recently designed an evening gown with which she intends to wear ornaments of aquamarine framed in silver", it said. The off-the-shoulder gown was made of pale blue silk satin, over which layers of antique silver lace and light blue, green and grey tulle were laid. The dress was said to be reminiscent of the waves and foam of the sea – matching the aquamarine, whose name is borrowed from the Latin word for sea water. Whether you want to wear the aquamarine with a light blue dress or in a completely different, modern way – one thing is certain: the jewel still transports the poetic ideal of beauty of that bygone era into the present day. The quote from [Anon:] 'In Tints of the Sea. Something Seasonable in the Line of Finery for Feminine Wear', The Clinton Mirror, 12 March 1904, n. p. (p. 3).

Estimation:€14,490

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