Oh glory, those gems!

[BelleBlackburn]

View attachment 321765
As requested, I am starting a thread talking about jewelry, because it is my abiding passion. My Grandmother was a teacher, and I inherited all her odd and lovely pieces. Not that they are Civil War era..just fun...1923+

Now..the basics..Cameo. Ears, pins, pendants. And I swear the bigger the better! Cameos are carved from shell, in their original form, but you will find them in all sorts of media...for example, I have a very nice set in blue..the cameo is cream on that blue back ground..And then there are the Limoge cameos, which are porcelain. They come in big or small, all are lovely. Some are faces, some are scenes.. I don't know the "proper" backing, but I can tell you if the back has a "roller" it's more modern, but that is OK! Honestly it is the look you are going for. I inherited a limoge pin, with tiny pearls around a cameo..it has a roller back and it is wonderful..pics to come..I bought a big honkin limoge pin that has a back that slides over the pin..It's heavy as all heck, but I love it..

Vulcanite. It's rubber. Seriously. And used very often in Mourning Jewelry. It's origins lie in the discovery of Pompeii..it was the cheap alternative to obsidian, which is volcanic glass. Lots of repro's out there. The originals might be brittle at this point in their existance.

Gems..oh my...Carnelian, Topaz, pearl, garnet, diamond at reasonable prices..Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire..before the consortiums got their hands on the gem trade. Precious gems. Turquoise raised it's head later, but really rare. I have seen it in a crown, of all things!

Jewelry can be a big issue..post your favorite, or your questions and I will try to be a helping hand. I love jewelry, I make it. It shines in my heart.

Mrs. V, I would love to see pictures of some of your pieces.

 

[alan polk]

Not surprisingly, I can get lost - and lost real quick -in these fashion threads.

So, what is a lavelier again? Do any of the pictures of the women posted here show a lavelier?

 

[Mrs. V]

Mrs. V, I would love to see pictures of some of your pieces.

Soon!

 

[Mrs. V]

Not surprisingly, I can get lost - and lost real quick -in these fashion threads.

So, what is a lavelier again? Do any of the pictures of the women posted here show a lavelier?

A lavelier is a pendant, usually in gold, that is very delicate. Many have a single fresh water pearl dangling from the bottom of the piece..it's more 1880-90's I think.

 

[Norm53]

There is a splendid article on cameos at Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cameo_(carving)&oldid=910996098

Learn something new at CWT every day.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Ok...very large brooch, can't tell if it's a cameo or not. Might be carved ivory..that lace scarf I've seen draped over ladies heads as well. Picture with the gold highlights? Probably just to make it sparkle like the gold they were wearing. Necklace might be vulcanite, might be onyx. Yes, she is wearing a chain around her waist. A Chatelaine onto which she would have the keys to the spice chest among other things. And I think her hair is done in very tight spirals. Did I get everything?

Of course you did, thank you! Your vulcanite description is making me go back over some ACW era buttons we have. You know how they saved every, single button, hook, bit of lace and anything else reusable on dresses? Mom's aunt had a ton she passed down- some of the black ones I assumed were onyx ( although they feel ' soft ', not hard like onyx ). Do you see vulcanite buttons on era clothing? They're not glass or jet, we have some of those and there's a difference?

Possibly you have a lavalier?

THAT is indeed what I have and now I'll be able to spell it, too.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

A lavelier is a pendant, usually in gold, that is very delicate. Many have a single fresh water pearl dangling from the bottom of the piece..it's more 1880-90's I think.

That's exactly what this one has, a fresh water pearl dangling from it. So not ACW, very good to know. We've been trying to figure out whose it was. The date narrows it down. I can pin down fashion fairly well per date, jewelry tends to defeat me! I'll get a photo of it but I'm guessing it'll be a match for that date.

That last photo, I've seen this woman before in another photo, does anyone know who she is?
She's stunning by the way.

Isn't she perfectly stunning? Somewhere would be an ID- the trouble with a lot of these is they spread outword from sites like Pinterest. Posters tend to ditch IDs and orphan them. Once in awhile you can trace them back.

 

[Waterloo50]

That's exactly what this one has, a fresh water pearl dangling from it. So not ACW, very good to know. We've been trying to figure out whose it was. The date narrows it down. I can pin down fashion fairly well per date, jewelry tends to defeat me! I'll get a photo of it but I'm guessing it'll be a match for that date.





Isn't she perfectly stunning? Somewhere would be an ID- the trouble with a lot of these is they spread outword from sites like Pinterest. Posters tend to ditch IDs and orphan them. Once in awhile you can trace them back.

I've seen her photo before, I thought perhaps she was related to a civil war general or someone from politics, she looks like she comes from a wealthy family.

 

[BelleBlackburn]

When I was researching a jewelry gift for the first book carbuncles came up. They sound like a painful boil but apparently are jewelry too. You can find some examples on google images.