Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Set of Five Platinum Eternity Bands or Guard Rings, 1920-40

Guard Rings
1920-1940
England
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here, we see a set of five platinum guard rings set with diamonds, emeralds and rubies. Today, we’d refer to these rings as Eternity Bands and, they’re quite in fashion again. This set was made between 1920 and 1940.


These narrow rings are set with a continuous line of matching, single-color stones. Such rings initially became very fashionable during the 1930s. They were worn either next to or instead of a plain, gold or platinum wedding band. Of course, diamonds were the most popular choice, others were often set with emeralds, rubies or sapphires. One famous lover of such rings was Princess Marina, the Duchess of Kent. On her marriage in 1934 to Prince George, the Duke of Kent (son of George V and Mary of Teck), she selected three - one of rubies, one of diamonds and one of sapphires, the colors of the Union Jack.

Unusual Artifacts: The Aachen Hound Pendant, 1860

Pendant
Aachen, Germany, 1860
Enamel, Gold, Diamonds, Emerald, Rubies, Pearls
The Victoria & Albert Museum

German jewelers—particularly in Aachen—in the Nineteenth Century had mastered the art of enamel and rivaled the works of Russian jewelers.

This beautiful pendant from Aachen is evidence of the immense skill of the German jewelers. Made by Reinhold Vasters of Aachen in 1860, this pendant of enameled gold depicts a hound on a cornucopia, and is set with rubies, table-cut diamonds and an emerald, and hung with pearls.

Mastery of Design: A Pair of French Gemstone Earrings, 1820-1830

Earrings
1820-1830
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Fashioned of gold filigree with cannetille (thin gold wires) and grainti (bumpy grains of gold) decoration, these earrings are set with emeralds, citrines, sapphires, garnets, rubies, aquamarines, peridots and pearls.

I’ll repeat what I said when I discussed the matching necklace which accompanies these earrings. I believe that these earrings were made later than the necklace. The necklace was created around 1820—a fact very much reflected in the style of the piece. However, I’m guessing the earrings came about a decade later. There’s something about the workmanship that doesn’t exactly match. However, they’re quite attractive and very nice examples of the style of the early to mid Nineteenth Century. This is the sort of thing that a young Queen Victoria would have worn—or at least admired.

Mastery of Design: The Cartier Mughal Emerald Dress Clip, c. 1935

Dress Clip
Cartier, 1935
This and all related images from The British Museum

The work of Cartier, an Seventeenth-Eighteenth Century, Mughal carved emerald is set in a diamond and platinum mount dating to 1935.  The clip brooch features a hinged fitting for the platinum double prong at the top and set with round and baguette-cut diamonds, forming a lotus-like flower head. 

The antique carved emerald at the front is adorned with a single bloom with radiating petals, the tips of which are flipped to create a three-dimensional effect. At the back, the carving depicts a triple leaf with surrounding foliage. 

The emerald is drilled with suspension holes at the top and the bottom in order to accommodate hanging on a necklace. 

Rare Gems: An Exceptional Emerald Ring, 1850

Emerald Ring
Unknown Maker, 1850
Part of the Townshend Collection, 1869
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In 1869, cleric and poet Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend bequeathed an impressive collection of 154 rare gem stone pieces to the Victoria & Albert Museum. Among them, this emerald ring is one of the most magnificent.

A perfect, square-cut emerald, surrounded a border of twenty-four brilliant-cut diamonds and set in gold. The shoulders of the ring each feature four brilliant-cut diamonds and two rose-cut diamonds.

While most of the stones in the Townshend Collection are set as rings, they were, most likely never meant to be worn.

A Portion of the Townshend Collection
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Mastery of Design: An Art Deco Diamond and Emerald Pin, 1927

Pin
Platinum, Gold, Diamonds, Stained Chalcedony, Emeralds
French, 1927
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Retailed by French jeweler Lacloche Frères in 1927, this sumptuous pin is the height of Art Deco style. Designed in the shape of a stylized Cyprus tree, the pin showcases the popular black and white style which dominated jewelry design of the 1920’s. Here, again, we find that black onyx has been substituted with stained chalcedony. A shock of color comes from beautiful natural emeralds.


Set in platinum with white gold prongs, the pin was bequeathed to the Victoria and Albert Museum by Miss J.H.G. Gollan.

Reverse

Mastery of Design: The Cambridge Emeralds

The Vladimir Tiara, 1921The Royal Collection

Like most famous jewels, the Cambridge Emeralds have a long and fascinating history. Originally part of a collection of magnificent jewels belonging to Indian royalty, a suite of flawless emeralds came into British hands and was auctioned off at a charity ball in 1818. 

Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge,
The Duchess of Teck and Mother of
Queen Mary wearing the famed
emeralds

The winner was The Duchess of Cambridge, the grandmother of Queen Mary. Eventually (and with some difficulty which is the stuff of much debate and dubious scandal), Mary managed to get hold of the emeralds and took no time in having them set into both new and existing pieces of jewelry.

Queen Mary wearing the parure

A Diamond Brooch
with Two of the Cambridge EmeraldsThe Royal Collection

Most notably, Queen Mary had a portion of the Cambridge Emeralds installed in the newly acquired Vladimir Tiara—once the crown of Grand Duchess Vladimir, aunt of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II. Mary ordered that the original hanging pearls in the tiara be replaced with fifteen of the celebrated Cambridge Emeralds. I should add that the pearls were retained and can be replaced in the tiara when emeralds just won’t do.

Many of the other emeralds were used in a variety of brooches, necklaces, bracelets and earrings designed by the Royal Jewelers at Garrards. In almost all cases, the emeralds are detachable from their settings so that other stones can be fitted depending on the color of the gown. That was rather an economical idea of Queen Mary. Wasn’t it? 

The Cambridge Emeralds in their various settings are not part of the Crown Jewels, but rather are the personal property of Her Majesty, the Queen and are on display as part of The Royal Collection. Queen Elizabeth II often wears two of the brooches which were set with the Cambridge Emeralds and has worn the Vladimir Tiara on special occasions. Queen Mary would be proud.

Earrings Featuring the Cambridge EmeraldsThe Royal Collection

The Princess of Wales wore the choker as a choker and....

Mastery of Design: The DEAREST Bird, c. 1830

This and all related images
from The British Museum

Click to enlarge.

From The British Museum's Hull-Grundy Collection, this two-color gold comb was made around 1830 in Britain.  The comb is designed in the form of a leafy branch upon which is perched a bird with a ruby eye.  She carries a ring in her beak and is mounted on a trembler spring to give her movement.

The twig, at the central crest is set with a diamond, an emerald, an amethyst, a ruby, an emerald, a sapphire and a turquoise, which, as we know, in the language of jewels spells "DEAREST."  Gold foliage and turquoise-set forget-me-nots adorn the rest of the branch.

This is one in a collection of bird-themed romantic jewelry amassed by the Hull-Grundy family, itself a part of a fantastic parure.

Click images to "embiggen."

Mastery of Design: The Cartier Mughal Emerald Dress Clip, c. 1935

Dress Clip
Cartier, 1935
This and all related images from The British Museum

The work of Cartier, an Seventeenth-Eighteenth Century, Mughal carved emerald is set in a diamond and platinum mount dating to 1935.  The clip brooch features a hinged fitting for the platinum double prong at the top and set with round and baguette-cut diamonds, forming a lotus-like flower head. 

The antique carved emerald at the front is adorned with a single bloom with radiating petals, the tips of which are flipped to create a three-dimensional effect. At the back, the carving depicts a triple leaf with surrounding foliage. 

The emerald is drilled with suspension holes at the top and the bottom in order to accommodate hanging on a necklace. 

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Set of Five Platinum Eternity Bands or Guard Rings, 1920-40

Guard Rings
1920-1940
England
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here, we see a set of five platinum guard rings set with diamonds, emeralds and rubies. Today, we’d refer to these rings as Eternity Bands and, they’re quite in fashion again. This set was made between 1920 and 1940.


These narrow rings are set with a continuous line of matching, single-color stones. Such rings initially became very fashionable during the 1930s. They were worn either next to or instead of a plain, gold or platinum wedding band. Of course, diamonds were the most popular choice, others were often set with emeralds, rubies or sapphires. One famous lover of such rings was Princess Marina, the Duchess of Kent. On her marriage in 1934 to Prince George, the Duke of Kent (son of George V and Mary of Teck), she selected three - one of rubies, one of diamonds and one of sapphires, the colors of the Union Jack.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Diamond and Emerald Parure, 1806

Diamond and Emerald Suite
Necklace and Earrings
From a Parure by Nitot & Fils, 1806-1820
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Just part of a larger parure, this suite of emeralds and diamonds is thought to have been a gift from French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his consort Joséphine to their adopted daughter, Stéphanie de Beauharnais, on the occasion of her arranged marriage to the heir of the Grand Duke of Baden in 1806. Created by Nitot & Fils, the principal jewelers to Napoleon and Joséphine, the necklace and earrings feature dozens of diamonds and especially clear emeralds.


This was the height of fashion in 1806 with its large stones and the simplicity of design that were favored at the court of Napoleon. To give the wearer more options, the emerald drops at the back of the necklace can be detached and worn as earrings. These drops cam later, having been added to the necklace in 1820.

Mastery of Design: An Unusual Turban Ornament, Early Eighteenth Century

Turban Ornament
Early Eighteenth Century
Gold, Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, Beryls
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In 1922 and 1923, the V&A accepted a donation of rare and unusual turban ornaments from a Mr. Talyarkhan, who had purchased them from the Maharaja of Jaipur. This gold and jeweled ornament from the early Eighteenth Century is among the most exceptional of them.


Created for a male's turban, this ornament would be held in place by the folds of the turban and is designed to be viewed from both the front and from behind. The front of the piece features a pattern of flowers and leaves in rubies, emeralds, diamonds and pale beryls. The reverse shows the same design with the exclusion of the diamonds.

Historians at the V&A are unsure if this ornament was made in India or Pakistan, however, Indian portraits from this time period depict similar ornaments al lof which seem to rely on floral motifs. 

Mastery of Design: Queen Mary’s Emerald and Diamond Brooch

Emerald and Diamond Brooch
Garrards
Bequeathed to Queen Elizabeth II, 1953
The Royal Collection

As I’ve mentioned before Queen Mary (Mary of Teck) had a habit of collecting things that she liked. She was also the frequent recipient of gifts—really nice gifts. This was one of them.


Presented to Queen Mary at the Delhi Durbar, by “The Ladies of India,” this gorgeous brooch was created specifically for the Queen by those wonderful fellows at Garrards. The brooch sports an enormous emerald which is carved with a rose on the front and a rose bush on the back. The entire piece is surrounded in stunning brilliant-cut diamonds, set in gold.

Upon Queen Mary’s passing, she bequeathed this eye-popper to her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.