Pick of the Week – Volume 80

Joden Girl

Baubles and Bling with Unbelievable Pricing

The Grand Period was the final portion of the Victorian Era.  Preceded by Early and Mid-Victorian, the years between 1860-1885 celebrated the future by embracing styles of the past.  Revivalist jewelry was popular and included both Etruscan and Egyptian themes.  Inspired by these ancient civilizations and artifacts found by excavating their tombs, jewelers incorporated key aspects from those eras.  Etruscan revival showcased elaborate beaded gold work called granulation with gemstones.  Egyptian revival highlighted symbols such as scarabs, the Eye of Horus, and lotus flowers with accents of enamel and gemstones.

Hints of both civilizations are present in this authentic Victorian brooch.  Bezel set with a twisted rope accent is a cabochon oval garnet.  Shimmering with every shade of red from raspberry to merlot, this beautiful gem pops from within its golden frame.  Three additional twisted wires decorate the matte surface.  Bringing a secondary color to the piece is a row of small ovals.  Soldered to the surface, these metal frames are filled with white enamel using the cloisonné technique.  

Peep the glass locket on the back – called a hair receiver, this hidden feature was meant to preserve a locket of hair from a lost loved one.  This one has the original fabric still intact and appears to have never been used.  Wonderfully crafted, this authentic piece of Victorian jewelry has long been a treasured part of the Joden inventory.  Previously listed on our site for $3,900.00 – we are dropping the price in hopes of finding a new custodian for this beauty.  Now available for just $2,875.00 – make this piece of history part of your story today.

“You can go to a museum and look, or come to us and touch.”

Written by Carrie Martin

Photos by Dana Jerpe

Joe’s Special Box – Volume 111

Joden Girl

Baubles, Bling, and A Collector’s Things

Okay, sofa shoppers…  this one is just too good.  Grab your phone and your credit card.  I promise this sweet little number from Joe’s Special Box will be gone long before the stay-home order is lifted.  Don’t hesitate or you’ll miss it!  I fell in love with it from the minute I discovered it.  Every little detail sings in perfect harmony.  

An oval cabochon garnet sits center stage in this Victorian sweetheart.  The purplish hue of the stone is exquisitely complemented by the halo surrounding it.  Fourteen tiny white seed pearls create the ideal amount of contrast, accenting the center stone to perfection.  It’s not overdone.  The design is simple and oh-so-sweet.  

The ring itself is constructed from 14 karat yellow gold, adding a warm glow to the piece.  Priced right at $695, this ring won’t last long.  If you’re as enchanted as I am…  get on the phone!  Call us at 1-800-747-7552 to purchase now!

Written by Carrie Martin

Photos by Dana Jerpe

Words to Live By

Joden Girl

Baubles, Bling, and Amazing Accessories

Keep calm and carry a fabulous bag!  These are words to live by.  Honestly, a great handbag is like balm for a fashionista’s soul; it’s full of promise and possibility, it always fits, and like all classics – it never goes out of style. 

Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Kate Spade, and Chanel – just to name a few.  The mention of these names evokes extravagant imagery and often inspires retail therapy in today’s woman.  But luxury handbags are not a new trend, in fact, they’ve been fashionable for over 200 years. 

 

It often took weeks to make just one purse like this.  Crafted from hundreds of tiny gold links, each one was made individually then riveted together to form the silky mesh.  It glides across your skin like satin…  truly incredible.  The process was perfected in the Middle Ages when making chain mail armor. 

This lovely bag (pictured above) was handmade in the early 1900’s.  Made entirely of 14 karat yellow gold, it features a cabochon garnet thumbpiece (the button used to open it), a carrying chain, and a small matching change purse suspended from a shepherd’s hook (small curled wire) soldered inside the frame.  Scripted onto the change purse is the year “1909”. 

Flappers went crazy for these golden beauties in the 1920’s…  especially those with decorative patterns woven into the mesh and the ones decorated with precious stone trim, like these.  Rich blue sapphires are spaced by dazzling diamonds across the framework of each gold clutch. 

Whiting and Davis is perhaps the most famous maker of mesh handbags of various metals from yellow gold (like those shown here) to German silver, sterling silver, and gunmetal.  When the automatic mesh machine was invented in 1912, Whiting and Davis purchased the patent.  They dominated the market for nearly a century.

At Joden, we have many of these unique bags in stock, in both gold and silver.  This weekend and for the next few weeks, they will be on display in our front window.  Come visit me!  I promise you that this is a bag you have to feel to believe.  I am crazy over the unique patterns and the clever clasps!  You must come try it for yourself…

As always, go to our site and look, then come to Joden and touch.

Written by Carrie Martin

Photos and video by Shelly Isacco

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