Precious French Belle Epoque diamond brooche with magnificent enameled scenery

As was aspired in the true existence of the Belle Époque period, this enchanting brooch from 1900 embodies the glorification of romanticism perfectly. The gleam of the parallel engravings -called guilloche- in the 18K warm yellow and possibly red gold background lures you straight from the platinum frame of 104 rose cut diamonds into its nostalgic enameled landscape. Over the sun-kissed meandering stream, you can drift off to a long forlorn ruin while passing spring blooming trees in green meadows.

With its ribbon and double twig wrapping, this marvelous jewel presents more than only the framework in which your past memories reflect next to your future dreams. The depth that is being created and how the scenery comes to life by the sun's reflection on the water show the craftsmanship of a master goldsmith ánd painter. In our trade, we treasure such an extraordinary craft, where the gold shines through the transparent and translucent enamel.

To see the actual shining of the scenery that we are so amazed by, please check out the movie of this brooch.

Antique jewelry object group: brooch

Condition: excellent condition
  -  (more info on our condition scale)

Country of origin: France

Style: Belle Époque - The Belle Époque (French for "Beautiful Era") was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring during the time of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, the "Belle Époque" was named in retrospect, when it began to be considered a "golden age" the major powers of Europe, new technologies improved lives and the commercial arts adapted Renaissance and eighteenth-century styles to modern forms. In the newly rich United States, emerging from the Panic of 1873, the comparable epoch was dubbed the Gilded Age. In the United Kingdom, this epoch overlaps the end of what is called the Victorian Era there and the period named the Edwardian Era. or more info on styles

Style specifics: The Belle Époque (French for "Beautiful Era") was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century from the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) and lasted until World War I (1914-18).

Occurring during the time of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, the "Belle Époque" was named in retrospect, when it began to be considered a "golden age" the major powers of Europe, new technologies improved lives and the commercial arts adapted Renaissance and eighteenth-century styles to modern forms.

In the newly rich United States, emerging from the Panic of 1873, the comparable epoch was dubbed the Gilded Age. In the United Kingdom, this epoch overlaps the end of what is called the Victorian Era there and the period named the Edwardian Era.

In the Belle Époque cheap coal and cheap labour contributed to the cult of the orchid and made possible the perfection of fruits grown under glass, as the apparatus of state dinners extended to the upper classes; champagne was perfected during the Belle Époque. Exotic feathers and furs were more prominently featured in fashion than ever before, as haute couture was invented in Paris, the centre of the Belle Époque, where fashion began to move in a yearly cycle; in Paris restaurants such as Maxim's achieved a new splendour and cachet as places for the rich to parade, and the Opéra Garnier devoted enormous spaces to staircases as similar show places.

After mid-century, railways linked all the major cities of Europe to spa towns like Biarritz and Deauville; their carriages were rigorously divided into first-class and second-class, but the super-rich now began to commission private railway coaches, as exclusivity was a hallmark of opulent luxury. Bohemian lifestyles gained a different glamour, pursued in the cabarets of Montmartre.

Period: ca. 1900
  -  (events & facts of this era, poetry of this era, fashion of this era)

Source of inspiration: Mother Nature

Theme: A romantic scenery with a river, forrest and a ruin on top of a hill.

Material: platinum and 18K yellow gold
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Technique: Enamelling is an old and widely-adopted technology. The ancient Egyptians applied enamels to pottery and stone objects. The ancient Greeks, Celts, Russians, and Chinese also used enameling processes on metal objects. Enamel is the colorful result of fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 degrees Celsius. The powder melts and flows and hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating on metal, glass or ceramic. According to some sources, the word enamel comes from the High German word smelzan (to smelt) via the Old French esmail. Used as a noun, "an enamel" is a usually small decorative object, coated with enamel coating, such as a champlevé or a cloisonné (different techniques).

Diamond(s): 104 rose cut diamonds. We do not have the weight of the diamonds which is normal in our trade when it comes to rose cuts.

Birthstones: Diamond is the birthstone (or month stone) for April.
  -  (more info on birthstones)

Hallmarks: The French control mark representing a "mascaron" (French for "grotesque mask") that was in use in France from 1912 and used for into France imported platinum jewelry and objects.
  -  (more info on hallmarks)

Dimensions: 3,07 cm (1,21 inch) x 2,75 cm (1,08 inch)

Weight: 6,30 gram (4,05 dwt)

Reference Nº: 16326-0218

Copyright photography: Adin, fine antique jewelry

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