Vintage Enamel Multi-Frogs Link Bracelet by Kenneth Jay Lane
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A vintage limited edition Enamel Multi-Frogs Link bracelet, Kenneth Jay Lane. circa 1980's. Features seven green enameled frogs accented with polished gilded gold vermeil finished hardware studs. Gold plated. Weight 76.9 grams. Length 19 cm. For almost 60 years Kenneth Jay Lane has been one of the world's foremost fashion jewellers. He was regarded as the first American jewellery designer to make it not only acceptable, but also fashionable to wear costume jewellery. He has been an innovator, creating 'Fabulous Fakes' that continue to cause real jewels to be left home in the safe! Kenneth Jay Lane's customers throughout the years included some of the world's most publicized and fashionable women including Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy and the princesses Margaret and Diana.
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- 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.
- Vermeil - Gold vermeil is sterling silver (.925 silver) plated with gold. The process originated in France around 1750. The technique was called fire gilding. Jewellery makers applied mercury and gold to the silver and exposed the metal to extreme heat. The heat caused the mercury to vaporize and the layer of gold to adhere to the silver. The qualify as vermeil, the gold layer with which the silver is plated must be at least 10-carat gold
The mercury vapours generated by the heat caused many artisans to become blind, and France made this process illegal in the 1800s. Modern gold vermeil is usually created using an electrolytic process, which is much safer than fire gilding yet produces a similar result.
Vermeil is usually found in jewellery and watches, and occasionally in dinnerware.
In the White House, the residence of the President of the United States, there is a Vermeil Room sometimes called the "Gold Room," which houses the collection of vermeil bequeathed to the White House in 1956 by Mrs. Margaret Thompson Biddle. The Vermeil Room serves as a display room and, for formal occasions, as a ladies sitting room. - Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.
For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.
Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today.
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