Grandma's jewelry

Ookoo

Ookoo

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Grandma\'s jewelry

I remember playing with this jewelry when I was a little girl. My mother told me that it had belonged to my late grandmother, but I had a hard time imagining the stern lady in the photographs wearing such showy stuff.

My grandmother was born in Russia around 1899, and emigrated to the U.S. in the 1910's or 1920's. She lived in New York for several years and then in California. She passed away in 1963.

The jewelry looks like its made from brass. The small red stones are clear and faceted. I can't tell what the purple half-circles are made of.


Anyone want to guess at the date for the jewelry? And do you think it came with her from Russia, or made in the U.S.?

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My guess:
Circa 1910, Art Nouveau with cloisonne and garnets. A medium to high=end priced piece, which may have makers marks if you look carefully. Most likely Czech in origin.
 
I would date it later. Looks like 1920's - 1930's to me. Really lovely and possibly Czech. I'm seeing a little bit of Art Deco here. The stones may be glass - the metal certainly looks like brass. Great set!

Linn
 
Holy canoli, I've never seen anything quite like that. i LOVE the fineness of the detail, especially those sweet little enamel teardrops.
 
I can't pretend to know much about jewelry, but I do know about art, and I'm definitely getting Art Deco off them too, which would make them later as Linn said. They are geometric rather than the fluid nature-inspired aesthetic of Art Nouveau.

Absolutely beautiful.
 
This set is just divine! Wow!!! I've never seen anything quite like it. At first glance I thought Art Nouveau because of the tear drop shapes but after looking at it a few more times, the necklace in particular is quite geometric in shape and certainly appears more Art Deco. It's got to be pre 1930's. Just exquisite. Lucky thing!!!
 
It's interesting that you feel this jewellery is showy. It is not untypical of the period which I think is late 1920's and is quite understated actually.

The Secessionist Movement started in Austria in about 1897 is often identified with Art Nouveau. This set doesn't have the design elements so I would also date this as later and it does look more 'Art Deco." I think it was probably purchased in the USA.
 
Perhaps "showy" isn't the right word, but my grandmother looked so dour in her photos, with very plain clothes and no jewelry in evidence, so I couldn't picture her wearing these.

I wish I had pictures of her as a young woman.

And yes, I am thrilled to have them. I thought they were lost forever, but I just came across them, hidden away where I didn't expect them.
 
The bracelet is much too big for me, so I'm thinking of removing one of the sections. It should be easy to do. Then I could use the extra piece for a brooch.

Any idea what the purple half-circles are made of? Could they be plastic in something this old?
 
The purple half-circles are probably glass. One easy way to test is that glass is colder to the touch than plastic. I usually touch it right about my upper lip. Glas also makes a different sound if tapped, (Gently), so if you do this and compare it to know glass and plastic you'll hear the difference. They "could" be plastic but glass is more likely. I believe the set is Czech, C. 1925-1930. It's really lovely!

If you don't feel comfortable removing the link yourself U2U me and I will send you the name of a very good repair person who can do this for you - or you can take it to a jeweler.

Linn
 
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