Featured Victorian and Edwardian gold brooches ( mourning)

Hello again,
I would like to share few photos of new acquisitions as promised.
In December 2020 I decided to invest in jewllery and came across this fantastic forum. There are here some amazing people whom guided me with advice and with reading material like @Any Jewelry @Figtree3, @Fid , @KSW and @Bronwen in posts like " Books on antique and vintage jewllery ".
After reading few books, there was few designs that stuck in my head like mourning brooches, please see attached. The selling price in the book was around 800 dollars, about 400 pounds. I found these on Marketplace ( Facebook) for around £90 each. The top one is 15 karat, natural diamond and 2 ruby, this was £150. It is a mourning brooch, has a compartment at the back where I think there is some hair sealed. Dates around 1909, Edwardian.
The other 2 in the middle are 9 karat, but don't know the age, one is missing a diamond, just one is a morning brooch with compartment at the back.
The one at the front has one diamond, but the hallmark is hidden under the clutch, as if someone did that intentionally, I don't know the gold karat or the age.
What have I learned?
Usually these type of brooches are 9 karat gold. The most popular stones are diamonds, pearls and rubies. Also learned the term " mourning " for a brooch.
Finally, with the help of the people on this forum, I came from knowing nothing to knowing something...still a long way to go.
If anyone would like to comment, ask questions or connect this post with others, Please feel free to do so.
Kind regards,
Simona

 

Very nice. I'd call those sentimental, rather than mourning, as they've coloured stones and diamonds. Mourning brooches usually had black or dark enamel and often pearls, to symbolise tears. Yours look more like the kind that held a lock of a loved one's hair, sometimes a baby.

 

Yes, jewelry with a compartment was not always for mourning. Sometimes it was for sentimental reasons, to keep the hair of a loved one who was still alive. Perhaps even a child's hair.

These are lovely brooches!

 

I can see what looks like 2 repairs. Watch out for that. The problem is, these are not rare brooches. They are usually quite light. If you are going to buy gold brooches weigh the ones you have to try to get some idea of others you may wish to buy like these. That way, if you make bad buys you can get out of them with some money.

 

This link is helpful when trying to establish the meanings behind various stones and their symbolic representations when used in jewellery.

All Gemstone Meanings & Crystal Properties | Beadage

 

Sorry ritzy, that site has nothing to do with symbolism.
Those are the properties used in gemstone healing, which is used today, I use it too sometimes. It is entirely different from symbolism.
You can google terms, but google is not always your friend. Knowledge works much better, so if you are interested in jewellery history, read books or visit sites specialised in historic jewellery, like Lang's.
At the top of the 'jewelry forum' is a thread with recommended books.

The gemstone symbolism in Victorian and Edwardian jewellery is very different, it is not based on healing, but on what a stone or combination of stones stands for.
For instance, they used gemstone names to spell a word, like this:
diamond-emerald-amethyst-ruby, which spells dear.
They also used small round turquoise cabochons to form a forget-me-not, with obvious meaning.

 

Yup. It's flowers, birds and animals which have symbolism in Victorian jewellery. And colours of course.

 

So very pretty, dainty and elegant!
Leslie

 

Certain stones also symbolise "Love" "Eternity" "Everlasting" etc. Birthstones have also been used for centuries. Tiffany & Co., (for example) published a list for the first time in a pamphlet in c1870

In 1912, in an effort to standardize birthstones, the (American) National Association of Jewellers (now called Jewelers of America) met in Kansas and officially adopted a list. The Jewelry Industry Council of America updated the list in 1952 by adding Alexandrite for June, Citrine for November and pink tourmaline for October. They also replaced December's lapis with zircon and switched the primary/alternative gems for March. The American Gem Trade Association added tanzanite as a December birthstone in 2002. In 2016, the American Gem Trade Association and Jewelers of America added spinel as an additional birthstone for August. Britain's National Association of Goldsmiths created their own standardized list of birthstones in 1937...

 

The birthstone thing was an early attempt at commercialisation.

 

Thank you all for your comments, I would like to correct my Post, is there any way I could change the word from mourning into sentimental?
This is why I love this forum, there is a real input and guidance from the members.
Thank you

 

Oh, don't worry about correcting it, it's part of the discussion!

 

If you are acquiring pieces with a view toward future value, you should avoid picking up pieces like the second one: missing a diamond; appears to be missing the cover to the memento compartment; messy, conspicuous repair to the clasp; low karat gold. Higher quality work has a better chance of retaining or increasing its value than lower quality/damaged work does.

What is the center stone in the 5-gem brooch? Black onyx?

 

What is the center stone in the 5-gem brooch? Black onyx?[/QUOTE]

Hello again,
Good to hear from you and thank you for the reply. The 5 stone brooch is missing a middle diamond, there is no stone there, however when I bought it, the seller was selling it as diamond and rubby brooch. It came without a diamond, the seller was rude afterword, so I did not pursue the matter further. I would probably try to sell it at some point, but not as diamond and ruby.
The other point you raised, abot the other brooch missing a compartment, I did not even realise that until now, when I read your message and compared it with the one above it.
I should rename this message " How not to buy a sentimental brooch".
I don't regret buying them, they are special to me just because they survived the test of time.

P. S. Hope you received my emails, I had some issues with my mailbox.

Kind regards,
Simona

 

Well I don’t know what the heck happened but it was supposed to quote what Simona said. Tried to fix it 4 times, so....

 

Welp, sorry, just reread the original post and it said she got them on Marketplace. I don’t what buyer protections you have there. Most the stuff around here is pure junk on there.

 

Beautiful brooches. I have bought plenty of damaged items but usually as a job lot rather than a stand alone item.
I learn from them, or rather from the Wise Ones here, keep what appeals to me and sell the rest again usually in a job lot.
Then I take what I have learned to look for better examples. The items I would have purchased a year or two ago I maybe wouldn’t now.
I am probably well known on here for being tight about how much I pay for an item but if I’m paying what I would consider to be decent money it has to be in good condition or at least an easy repair.
If I’m not sure I will be ruthless and try to work out the scrap value if the gold and gems then at least I don’t lose money.
Also, if in doubt ask in here before you buy!. People are incredibly generous with their expertise and I’ve been saved from several buying mistakes by advice from here.

 

Hi,
Thank you so much for the advise, I started looking now on EBay, and there is indeed a wider variety of jewllery.
On Marketplace there is not much you can do regarding sellers, as now even the "leave feedback" option does not exist. There are allot of scamming going on Marketplace, so now I am using it less. Even paying with PayPal as services, does not protect the buyer, unless you say that the product was not delivered. If it has defects, though luck, the excuse is damage in transit, and that's it.
Lessons to be learned
Now I am looking at auctions and am very happy the way it goes.
I will try posting more, this is the easiest way to learn for me, from everyone's comments.
Thank you all again.
Kind regards,
Simona

 

Hello again,
Lovely to hear from you. Yes, I have also been saved by generos members on this forum from buying some things I have been told that they are worth alott of money, but in fact they were junk. Complete begginer
I am very grateful and happy to listen to advise given here.
Kind regards,
Simona