Feather and Gemstone Pendant Necklace, circa 1925

Mother-of-pearl, feather and gemstone pendant necklace, circa…
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Mother-of-pearl, feather and gemstone pendant necklace, circa 1925, centring a circular glazed compartment framed by a spherical platinum surround enclosing a mother-of-pearl plaque, the obverse with image of an egret applied with feathers, the reverse with image of a scarlet macaw similarly decorated, the frame surmounted with a geometric motif decorated with circular-cut diamonds, carre sapphires, white chalcedony and red paste, terminating in a bead-set diamond, completed by a 9ct white gold trace chain, pendant diameter approximately 37 mm, accompanied by a fitted box, Roskell & Hunt, J.W.Benson, 25 old Bond Street, London, W.

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  • Obverse - Obverse means the front face of a coin or medal, and the reverse means the back face. The obverse of a coin is commonly called heads, because it often depicts the head of a monarch or famous person.
  • Mother-Of-Pearl - Mother-of-pearl, technical name "nacre", is the inner layer of a sea shell. The iridescent colours and strength of this material were widely used in the nineteenth century as an inlay in jewellery, furniture, (especially papier mache furniture) and musical instruments.

    In the early 1900s it was used to make pearl buttons. Mother-of-pearl is a soft material that is easily cut or engraved.

    Nowadays it is a by-product of the oyster, freshwater pearl mussel and abalone industries.
  • Hunt & Roskell - Hunt & Roskell, were a firm of manufacturing and retail jewellers and silversmiths, founded in 1843 by Robert Roskell a famous pocket watch maker from Liverpool, and John Samuel Hunt who had previously been in partnership with silversmith Paul Storr, trading Storr & Co. (1819-22), Storr & Mortimer (1822-38), Mortimer & Hunt (1838-43) and then Hunt & Roskell (1843-97).

    Hunt & Roskell had retail premises at 156 New Bond Street and a manufacturing workshops at 26 Harrison Street, near Clerkenwell.

    They were among the finest of the Victorian silversmith, manufacturing in the high Victorian style, and their craftsmanship was recognised by their appointment as silversmiths and jewellers to Queen Victoria.

    John Samuel Hunt continued as a partner until his death in 1865, when he was succeeded by his son, John Hunt (d.1879). Robert Roskell remained in the firm until his death in 1888. In 1889 the firm was taken over by J.W. Benson and continued in business as Hunt & Roskell Ltd until c.1965.
  • Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
  • Paste / Rhinestone / Diamante - Paste (or rhinestone or diamante) is the name given to a coloured glass composition used for imitation gemstones, or to imitation gemstones made of glass.

    Although the technique of glassmaking had been known for thousands of years, but it wasn't until a lead glass with similar optical properties to diamonds were invented by a German jeweller working in Paris (either "Stras" or 'Strasser") in the early 18th century that "paste" gemstones became popular.

    There was no social stigma attached to wearing imitation stones, and they were worn in situations where highway robbery was a possibility. The 18th century settings were of very high quality, equivilent to real gemstone jewellery.

    In the nineteeth century the quality of paste jewellery declined and it has remained the poor cousin to genuine gemstones ever since.

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