Delicate Edwardian Bow Brooch with Diamonds & Sapphires in Platinum, c. 1910

Brightly sparkling diamonds and blue sapphires adorn a large bow that looks as though it was made from the finest lace. Delicate platinum settings hold the gemstones so that they almost seem to float. The finest platinum bars form the loops and ribbons between the gemstones, everything is fine and airy - and yet stable and durable. In terms of its design and its craftsmanship, the brooch is a typical product of the first decade after 1900. Large bows as brooches were very fashionable back then. David Bennet and Daniela Mascetti: Understanding Jewellery, Woodbridge 2010, pp.278–284 show some selected examples, very similar to the piece here. The cuts of the diamonds and sapphires also date back to around 1910. The latter are calibrated cut and set, a particularly effective but also infinitely laborious technique for furnishing jewelry. Channel settings are filled with faceted gemstones so close together that the impression is that the stones are floating between their metal boundaries - it seems as if you are looking out from surfaces made of crystal. The workmanship made entirely of platinum shows the exceptional quality of the brooch. Platinum was extremely valuable at this time, far more expensive than gold, and also very difficult to process. Pieces of jewelry were therefore only rarely made entirely of platinum; it was more common to use platinum only for the front side of the pieces of jewelry. However, the fine bars from which the brooch is made can only be made from platinum: the effort and effort involved in creating the loop can be seen in these details. The brooch may have been made in the US, but also in Europe; Fashion was very international in those years. It was later imported to Austria. We discovered it in Vienna and brought it to Berlin.

Estimation:€18,890

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