17th Century table cut diamonds pendant ca.1650

An exceptional example of the Portuguese bow-knot pendant in a quality we are proud of to present. The exquisite design, excellently executed by highly skilled jewellers is a true joy for the eye. This type of jewel is called a laça bow-knot. The abundantly used diamonds and heavy gold metal work can make us only wonder what high class noble lady this jewel belonged to.

Authentic Medieval Gold Pin Brooch

(Click the picture to see this charismatic brooch)

This brooch was offered to us in the shop in this condition. Made somewhere between 1300 and 1400 (always hard to pin-point exactly). We decided to leave it untouched as we think that any repair or alteration to this jewel won’t do it justice as it will take away its genuine character.

What do we see? Born as a cross, with a center stone that is either ruby or spinel and three remaining settings, most likely for the same type of stone as in the center. Three remaining, as it is obvious that there was a fourth setting. The little pins sticking out of the center, where most likely meant to keep pearls in its place. We can still see the rubbed ends of the pins, showing a sort of riveting technique. We also think the brooch has been in the ground for a long time, long enough to have the pearls dissolved.

It still has its original stick pin and closure. Just imagine when people ask you “What strange thing are you wearing?” and you can say that it’s a piece that is some 700 years old!

An extraordinary piece with true charisma!

Colombian Emerald Art Deco Ring

(click the picture to see the details of this beauty)

We are proud to present you here an Art Deco ring with a truly magnificent Colombian emerald. This is how one wants to have an emerald. The velvetish warm green color of this stone makes it a true gem. One truly magnificent Colombian old mine emerald with a weight of 1.85 crt and hardly any ‘Jardin’. Jardin – French for “garden” – Is a group of three-phase, moss-like inclusions that are to be seen in almost every emerald and that constitute an acceptable, sometimes attractive, flaw. See the certificate for the specifications of this beauty as the pictures do not do really reveal the beauty of this gem.

Although the back of this jewel is in yellow gold, the diamonds are set in platinum. Mounted with 18kt yellow gold prawns in an entourage of small old mine cut diamonds (no less then 62) with a total weight of 1.20 carats and set in platinum gives an ovErall chique and yet unpretentious design. Look and enjoy!

Click to see more genuine Colombian emerald rings

Natural orient pearl necklaces Rare!

(Click the picture to see all our natural pearl necklaces)

In contrary to cultured pearls, the most valuable pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but they are extremely rare. These wild pearls are referred to as natural pearls.

The finest quality natural pearls have been highly valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries, and because of this, the word pearl has become a metaphor for something very rare, fine, admirable, and valuable.

We are proud to have some real natural pearl necklaces in our collection and we invite you to take a look at them.

Real Antique Rings

Real antique rings, enjoying jewelry with a history!

(Click the picture to see all our real antique rings)

Stylish Women Prefer: Adin Antwerp – Next time you attend a smart house party, make this test: Ask every woman there where she bought the antique ring she is wearing. It is almost a certainty that the majority tells you “Adin in Antwerp”. But that is only natural. Adin was first to discover that an Antique Ring is no longer a mere cosmetic. It’s a style accessory.

And so fashionable women everywhere look at Adin for their Antique Rings as surely as they look to Paris for styles in clothes. Adin Antique Rings retain their lustre longer. And as everyone knows, they sparkle and shine.

Try Adin Antique Rings. Continuously fresh stock coming in! Fashion right!

Micromosaic Butterfly and Ladybug seen together

(Click the picture to get to this beautiful micromosaic pendant)

Micromosaic is made from many small adjacent pieces (tesserae) of inlaid varicoloured glass or stone arranged to form a picture or design. For articles of jewelry, the mosaic was usually made in the form of medallions set in brooches, pendants, necklaces, finger rings, ear-rings, parures, etc.

Such work has been done principally in Italy, some being executed with skill and artistry in the 19th century, but many pieces being made in recent years as tourist souvenirs, with large tesserae of stone or glass that are roughly set, and sometimes with some painted portions. Pieces of good quality were mounted in gold frames, including some made by the Casa Castellani in Rome. The fashion for mosaic jewelry in England was mainly in the period 1820-60.

Mosaic work in jewelry was of two types:

• Roman or Byzantine mosaic, with the tesserae made of glass, set into molten glass, and fused together
• Florentine mosaic. (Venetian mosaic) made of slices of coloured glass canes, usually making a millefiori pattern, was seldom used for pieces of jewelry.

In both types the decorative motifs were often pictorial views of ancient ruins or famous buildings, and in the 1820s Egyptian motifs, but by the mid-l9th century the usual subjects had become more sentimental, e.g. flowers and pet dogs. The Florentine mosaic was imitated in Derbyshire, England, in the late 18th to early 19 century, by using local black marble and feldspar.

Tribute to French naturalistic jewelry

Swan on diamonds lake

At the end of the 19th Century jewelers used nature as inspiration for their designs. Their interpretations of animals in jewels are based on a realistic view of the colours and lines in naturalistic detail. The French were undoubtedly unrivalled in the design of jewelry during this period with a deep understanding for the gems and materials used. It is in French jewelry that the most stunning naturalistic motifs can be found. This 19th Century naturalistic jewelry in diamonds, of course, can be very expensive. With careful and imaginative taste, the flowers (reedmace or cattail) and swan act as a romantic and fascinating theme of this decorative jewel.

We think that this beauty is made at the end of the Victorian and beginning of the Art Nouveau era.

The Victorian era (the period of Queen Victoria’s reign from June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901) is known for its eclectic revival and interpretation of historic styles and the introduction of cross-cultural influences from the middle east and Asia in furniture, fittings, and interior decoration. Victorian design is widely viewed as having indulged in an excess of ornament. The Victorian period can roughly be divided into 3 distinct periods; the Romantic (1837 – 1860), Grand (1861 – 1885), and Late or Aesthetic Period (1880 – 1901). The jewelry of the late Victorian period once again returned to romanticism with more delicate and whimsical motifs such as stars, crescent moons, reptiles, animals, birds and insects. The discovery of the diamond mines in South Africa led to the use of mine, rose and cushion cut diamond stones.

The Art Nouveau style has its beginning in the late Victorian era. Art Nouveau (French for New Style) is an international movement and style of art, architecture and applied art – especially the decorative arts – that peaked in popularity at the turn of the 20th century (1890–1905). The name “Art Nouveau” is French for “new art”. It is also known as “Jugendstil”, German for “youth style”, named after the magazine Jugend, which promoted it, and in Italy, Stile Liberty from the department store in London, Liberty & Co., which popularised the style. A reaction to academic art of the 19th century, it is characterized by organic, especially floral and other plant-inspired motifs, as well as highly stylized, flowing curvilinear forms. Art Nouveau is an approach to design according to which artists should work on everything from architecture to furniture, making art part of everyday life.

But all this info aside: What a beautiful brooch! Upon the sight of this brooch we all turned instantly happy. What a pretty piece of Applied Art. Charming, touching, cute, top notch work and design… One of the very nicest pieces we have had in many many years. And it stays nice… everytime we look at it we are in awe of the quality and its positive impact to our mood .