It was in the late 1860 when novel tie jewels first appeared, and remains popular during the beginning of the twentieth century.
Novelties jewels were characterized by new designs, materials or techniques.
Most of the pieces were made en masse, in small size and had an inexpressive aspect.
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| Victorian gold dog stickpin |
We can find a huge number of topics in the designs, including pendants mills, buses, boilers and sprinklers.
sports themes were also very popular then, consequently we can encounter tennis rackets (with a pearl as a ball), golf clubs, fishing gear ... and also animals, pigs, poodles, donkeys, and so on.
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| Victorian Gold and pearl tennis racket stickpin |
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Terrier gold brooch, set with a reverse intaglio crystal, polychromed. England, Great Britain ca.1875-ca.1890 V&A Museum |
Darwin shook the world with his theories on natural selection.
Traveling became an adventure and a chance to soak up the culture first hand while reinforcing the social status.
Long journeys began in 1700 and flourish in 1800 when the upper class held in Grand Tour.
The general itinerary included France, Switzerland and Italy, this last particularly rich in antiquities.
Rome was an obligatory stop on the trip, with Pompeii and Herculaneum rediscovered in 1748 and 1738 respectively after being covered in 79 BC by the Vesuvius.
Lava jewels were a local souvenir.
Perhaps the most ingenious novelties were those that had an electric motor. They were first seen at the Paris Exhibition in 1867, like a skull, a rabbit playing a drum, birds and butterflies flapping their wings. They were designed as a tie pin, for the bodice or hair, and were connected to a miniature voltaic battery hidden in the pocket of the owner.
Sophisticated jewelry like this will be made in very small quantities.
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Gold, enamel and diamonds skull stickpin Fitted with Electrical Terminals The eyes roll and the jaws snap French, 1867 V&A Museum |
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Gold, enamel and diamonds skull stickpin Fitted with Electrical Terminals The eyes roll and the jaws snap French, 1867 V&A Museum |
Darwin renewed a general interest in nature and around 1860-1870 a taste for the exotic appeared.
The hunting trophies like tiger claws were mounted in India from 1840 onwards.
The plumage and intense luster of birds and insects were used to create colorful jewelry.
As in ancient Egypt, the sacred beetle, (allied to the Sun God and a symbol of rebirth) was used for new and flashy jewelry.
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Victorian scarabs and gold necklace |
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Victorian gold and scarab necklace c. 1875 |
The hummingbirds, accompanied by the myth of his supernatural powers, were the quintessential birds used. Most come from Mexico and South America where hummingbirds were especially colorful.
All these gems were not considered morbid, but were signs of celebration and commemoration.
Harry Emmanuel was a famous jeweler and one of the largest diamond dealers in London.
At he age of 25 he took charge of his father's business and a decade later he continued his work in ivory and the use of feathers in jewelry.
Emmanuel patented a technique that follows the traditional taxidermy, as the presence of arsenic and skulls shown in the investigation of the V&A Museum.
The visitors of his cabinet could see heads of hummingbirds mounted in necklaces and earrings inside cabinets full of gold, silver and other spectacular objects.
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Hummingbirds and Gold necklace London, England, AD 1865-70 British Museum |
In 1867 at the International Exhibition of Paris, Emmanuel exhibited a silver musical life-size automaton Swan, now in the collection of the Bowes Museum, which captured the attention of Mark Twain who later on wrote "The Innocents Abroad" based on it.
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Silver swan automaton c.1773 |
To see the swan in movement please click here