Now we’re finally getting to pink and blue! My personal favorite colors for gemstones. Imagine that these are what all little girls fantasize wearing when they play dress up as princesses.
These amethyst girandole earrings are not too over-the-top to be uncomfortable. They seem very wearable to me. The definition of girandole means a large, ornate dangling earrings with a large central stone surrounded by smaller one. This is a perfect visualization of that term. These were sold by Christie’s London in 1927 and again by Christie’s Geneva in 2007.
I can’t begin to compete with the description from the Catalog. Do yourself a favor and read the second paragraph. Need I say more? I don’t think so. All I can see are these dangling from ears and arranged in a tall and poufy coiffeur. Does anyone know what “little chef d’oeuvre” means as it was listed in the 1898 Inventory as the private property of Elisabeth Petrovna?
This last sapphire claims first place on my favorites list. It is unique in the world for its combination of size, color, clarity, and extraordinary cut.
Can anyone contemplate the skill and perseverance of the person who cut and covered the dome with honeycomb, hexangular (having six angles) facets? It measures 2 1/8-inches by 2 3/8-inches. I made a cut-out so that I could appreciate its size and it’s wonderfully big! The size isn’t the best part. It’s the intricate frame’s design and superb workmanship that are combined to make this the premier sapphire brooch among all sapphire brooches. I hesitate to mention other jewels in other royal collections (guess which one I’m hinting about) but this just blows every other sapphire brooch out of contention when I think of the best.
I did a little extra editing on the photo and placed 7 arrows marking the different diamond, inter-mingled rows surrounding the sapphire. There are little diamonds in between 18 larger brilliants anchoring the brooch. I am enthralled with the serpentine row of diamonds just below the 40 mid-size diamonds which embrace the sapphire.
Let me close with a sentence from the Catalog where the history of various items is provided. The writers say this is “our king-sapphire” … “nothing tarnishes the purity of this priceless gem” and I couldn’t agree more.
Please tune in next week for some special, one of kind fun!
