Plique a Jour Butterfly Earrings with Diamonds and Pearls

• Brilliant Cut - In their naturally occuring state diamonds have little life or sparkle and for many centuries were simply cut in half and worn in amulets. Invented at the end of the 17th century by a Venetian diamond cutter, a "brilliant cut" diamond has 58 facets arranged in a regular geometric relationship, with 33 above the crown and 25 below on the pavilion.
  
  The introduction of the brilliant cut increased the popularity of diamonds in jewellery as it was the first cut to reveal the fire of the diamond, with the light being internally reflected from one facet to another, and was superior to the previously used table cut and rose cut.Variants to the brilliant cut have emerged since the end of the 17th century, but the popularity of the original brilliant cut has continued to the present time, where it is still the most commonly found cut.
  
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• Plique-A-Jour - Plique a jour, which translates from the French as ?glimpse of daylight? is a method of enamelling in which the backing is removed or cut away so the light shines through, with a similar effect to a stained glass window. The enamel is held in place by border.
  
  Although the technique of plique-a-jour has been known and in use since the 6th century, it became popular again in the late 19th century, in Russia and Scandinavia. Plique-a-jour was popular in the Art Nouveau period, especially for jewellery.
  
  Because of the length of time required to produce an item, and the high failure rate, production was limited, and the technique is little used today.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• earrings, diamond
  • diamond 525
  • diamond and pearl 1,191
• earrings, silver - silver items 1,872
• plique a jour - jewellery and objects 96