Athletic Aesthetics

Joden Girl

Baubles, Bling, and Sporting Things

Just outside the window, the sun is blazing in the sky.  Finally!  And tomorrow’s forecast is calling for rain.  As the saying goes…  April showers bring May flowers.  That’s exactly the phrase that came to mind the first time I saw this sweet Art Nouveau brooch.

This cherubic fairy sitting atop a Spring daisy makes me smile.  Artfully done in pastel enamel with a delicate gold frame, it’s simply perfect.  Closer inspection reveals the true art of the piece.

Like many Art Nouveau designs, enameling is the star of show.  It’s a process in which glass is fused to a metal surface.  Glass beads (generally made from silica, quartz, borax, lead, and feldspar) are ground to a powder.  Metal oxides are added to create color.  The artist employed Peinture sur émail, a technique in which the colors are painted on, layer after layer.  The hues with the highest flowing temperature are applied first to keep one shade from melting into another.  The piece is baked after each application – sometimes firing it over twenty times!  Can you see the tiny drops of rain on the flower hat as well as the ones dripping from the daisy petals?  They are actually 3-dimensional, slightly raised from the surface of the painting…  such remarkable attention to detail!

This photo shows where the artist signed his miniature work of art…  “L Boullemier”.  I googled his name immediately ( What did I do before Google?)  and was delighted at what I found. 

His full name was Lucien Boullemier – a semi-famous English footballer (a.k.a. soccer player, in America) turned ceramic artiste.  Not finding a lot of success in his athletic career, he retired from soccer; ultimately, he followed in his father’s footsteps and began working as a designer at Mintons, Soho Pottery, and finally Maling Pottery.  

  

He was a prolific potter, many pieces are available in the market today – however, I have been unable to find another single piece of jewelry.  That makes this darling brooch quite rare.  Priced at $3300 – it’s available now in our showroom.  Make the most of these April showers and come see it for yourself!

Written by Carrie Martin

Photos by Shelly Isacco

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

High Maintenance?

Joden Girl

Baubles, Bling, and Pristine Rings

A wedding band is the most significant piece of jewelry you will ever wear.  Most people are incredibly attached to their band; some never take it off.  Until they have to…  usually for sizing or repair.  I have had customers employ some bizarre tactics to get a too-small ring off, everything from slathering their finger with saliva to squirting some Windex on the ring to help it slide over the knuckle.  Occasionally, a ring is SO tight that we actually have to cut it off.  Imagine a tiny saw-blade zipping through these beautiful scrolls and swirls.  

Wedding bands have evolved over the years – plain gold bands are no longer the norm.  Bands are often bedazzled with diamonds or gemstones like sapphires, rubies, and emeralds.  Sometimes they feature design techniques like a beaded milgrain edge, open filigree work, or a brushed satin finish, like each of these.

While these rings are crafted with care and designed for daily wear, they still need regular check-ups.  At Joden, we always recommend routine maintenance…  twice a year is a good rule of thumb.  Our team includes two master craftsman with over 75 years of combined experience.  Their savvy skills will keep your jewelry looking like new, even if it’s over 100 years old. 

Come to Joden, where our expertise is your advantage.  Click on the photos to get all the details about the gorgeous bands shown here.  And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter and have Joden Girl delivered straight to your inbox. 

“Got to our site and look, then come to Joden and touch.”

Written by Carrie Martin

Photos by Shelly Isacco

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