Antique Micromosaic Butterfly Pendant

(Click the picture to get to this beautiful micromosaic pendant)

Micromosaic is made from many small adjacent pieces (tesserae) of inlaid varicoloured glass or stone arranged to form a picture or design. For articles of jewelry, the mosaic was usually made in the form of medallions set in brooches, pendants, necklaces, finger rings, ear-rings, parures, etc.

Such work has been done principally in Italy, some being executed with skill and artistry in the 19th century, but many pieces being made in recent years as tourist souvenirs, with large tesserae of stone or glass that are roughly set, and sometimes with some painted portions. Pieces of good quality were mounted in gold frames, including some made by the Casa Castellani in Rome. The fashion for mosaic jewelry in England was mainly in the period 1820-60.

Mosaic work in jewelry was of two types:

• Roman or Byzantine mosaic, with the tesserae made of glass, set into molten glass, and fused together
• Florentine mosaic. (Venetian mosaic) made of slices of coloured glass canes, usually making a millefiori pattern, was seldom used for pieces of jewelry.

In both types the decorative motifs were often pictorial views of ancient ruins or famous buildings, and in the 1820s Egyptian motifs, but by the mid-l9th century the usual subjects had become more sentimental, e.g. flowers and pet dogs. The Florentine mosaic was imitated in Derbyshire, England, in the late 18th to early 19 century, by using local black marble and feldspar.

Antique Georgian ring black enamel friendship 18kt yellow gold

Here is a beautiful Georgian ring featuring black enamel and floral motifs in 18kt yellow gold. On the top of the ring, we can read "amitiés" written in French which means friendship. This can be of French of Belgian origin because the hallmark used, a horse head, was used in both countries from about 1831.

Georgian jewelry is rather rare as when time passed most worn out, was melted or taken apart and re-used for more modern designs. Materials like gold, silver and diamonds were very scarce and expensive and little consideration for fine craftmanship was taken with the "old stuff" when the owners wanted to wear their gold and diamonds according to the latest fashion in jewelry.

Besides a little dusting off we didn't have to do anything to offer it in its original beauty. Early 19th century, the ring is very good condition.

Antique late Victorian engagement ring diamonds pearls sapphire

This twisted shaped ring, Circa 1890s, is made of 18 high Carat yellow gold and platinum, although most of this jewel is in yellow gold, the diamonds are set in platinum. In the center, one cut blue sapphire is showcased by two white pearls. The precious stones sparkle among eight simplified rose cut diamond. The ring weighs 3.60 Grams and the finger US size is 5. It is our pleasure to resize the ring for you at our expense. Besides a little dusting off we didn't have to do anything to offer it in its original beauty. Late 19th century, the ring is in excellent condition.

How to Find a Unique Engagement Ring

When you enter into marriage life, you enter with lots of hopes and dreams and in general, no two relationships are alike. Some couples, in order to symbolize their commitment and love to one other, they prefer for unique engagement rings. Couples want their love to be unique and they prefer for unique wedding rings and they show to the world that they are unique even after marriage. Unique in sense, it is not of unique type of rings, it is available in different styles and designs with vast range of unique characteristics. There are different styles of wedding rings available and let us see its vast characteristics and styles.

Antique type of rings:

Most of the couples prefer for antique type of rings to make their day special and any type of rings that are 50 years old are said to be antique rings. Find the types and prices of these rings in online. Internet is an excellent resource for finding the best type of rings for your wedding or engagement.

Filigree type of rings:

What is filigree? It gives the meaning such as delicate and ornamental. This type of ring has symmetrical and figural patterns with extensive metal work arrangement. Due to intricacy, the medium or thick rings have elaborate filigrees and these patterns are particularly found in vintage and antique rings. When you see the cost factor of these rings, it depends upon many factors such as type of metal, intricacy of design and quality of gemstones.

Celtic rings:

Most of the engaged couples prefer for Celtic engagement rings and this ring culturally symbolize the unity of two people in everlasting love. Some of the diamond jewellery shops design this ring with favorite knot patterns and with different colored metal windings.

Mokume gane rings:

These are fashioned rings in a Japanese style and it is made using different metal alloys. For a bride with discriminating taste, it is highly a unique option for wedding rings. It is a rare and specially ordered ring and if it is fashioned incorrectly, then it is difficult to re size it.

Figural rings:

It is a perfect choice for creative couples and it is specifically crafted to represent a definitive form and you can design some figures like nature and animals on it. This design is very difficult to find and only few diamond jewelry shops have these types of designs. The couples can spell out letters and dates of their proposal or wedding date.

These designs are not found in commonplace and finding it can be a challenge, and you can find these types in diamond jewelry shops and independent jewelers will be selling these types of rings. Some shops provide you the facility of designing your own engagement rings so that the couples can design their own unique type of rings. Whenever you buy diamond rings, select diamond rings that satisfy four c’s of diamonds and buy a ring with diamond certification.

Art Nouveau Emil Vernier gold pin lady head floral secret space

The pin we have here is a nice example of the so called Medaillist Art that had a revival in France around 1886. Made (and monogrammed) by E.Vernier we see a woman's head that is depicting spring. Another remarkable fact is that the pin has a hidden place, something that one hardly ever sees with pins.

A similar pin is depicted in the famous "jewelry bible" by Henri Vever "French Jewelry of the Nineteenth Century" in the English translation on page 1048.

17th Century Cross Pendant : Gold & Table Cut Diamonds

We are proud to offer you here this magnificent piece of 17th Century goldsmith craftsmanship. It is amazing that this jewel has survived for over 300 years and still is in this superb condition. The only thing that is not original to it is the brooch-system in the back, which is added to it in a later stage; most probably somewhere in the first half of the 19th Century. The 18 Carats gold has the warm yellowish shine so typical for Southern European 17th Century jewelry. Although it does not carry any legible control marks we believe it is of Spanish or Portuguese origin. The solid gold work is beautifully finished and contains no less then 23 table rose cuts (one of the very first versions of rose cuts as we know it today). The cross weighs 17.50 Grams and the height is 57.5 mm (2.26 inch).

French gold Victorian Shamrock locket with three leaf clover in ruby

(Click the picture to get to all our lockets.)

A locket is a pendant that opens to reveal a space used for storing a photograph or other small item such as a curl of hair. Lockets are usually given to loved ones on holidays such as Valentine's Day and occasions such as Christenings, weddings and, most noticeably during the Victorian Age, funerals.

Lockets are generally worn on chains around the neck and often hold a photo of the person who gave the locket, or they could form part of a charm bracelet. They come in many shapes such as ovals, hearts and circles and are usually made of precious metals such as gold and silver befitting their status as decorative jewellery.

Lockets usually hold only one or two photographs, but some specially made lockets can hold up to eight. Some lockets have been fashioned as 'spinner' lockets, where the bail that attaches to the necklace chain is attached but not fixed to the locket itself which is free to spin, this was a common style in the Victorian Age.

Keepsake lockets can also be made with a glass pane at the front so that what is inside can be seen without opening the locket. These lockets are generally used for items like locks of hair which could fall out and become lost if the locket was repeatedly opened, whereas photograph lockets are generally enclosed on all sides and the photographs are secured by pieces of clear plastic.

Another kind of locket is/was made in a filigree style with a small cushion in the centre to which a few drops of perfume should be added, perfume lockets were popular in eras when personal hygiene was restricted and sweet smelling perfume was used to mask the odour of a person or their companions.

Happy New Year

The entire Adin team wishes you:
Happy New Year!

(Click the picture to see the antique jewelry our team has gathered)

Snowball fight with diamonds !!!

(Click the picture to read more about this beautiful Art Deco bracelet)

Don't you just hope to get hit sometimes?

French antique bracelet rose bouquets

Victorian decorative arts refers to the style of decorative arts during the Victorian era. The Victorian era is known for its eclectic revival and interpretation of historic styles and the introduction of cross-cultural influences from the middle east and Asia in furniture, fittings, and Interior decoration. Victorian design is widely viewed as having indulged in a regrettable excess of ornament. The Arts and Crafts movement, the aesthetic movement, Anglo-Japanese style, and Art Nouveau style have their beginnings in the late Victorian era.
The roses, first of all a symbol of love but there are many prophecies, legends and fairy tales made about this beautiful flower. A rose that blooms in autumn can mean a marriage. And you must remember the fairy tail of Sleeping Beauty. The bad queen pricked the beautiful, young princess with a thorn from a rose. She slept 100 years and a beautiful, young prince woke her up with a kiss. They married and they lived happily ever after. There exists a legend about how the rose got her thorns. The rose grew originally in the Garden of Eden and had no thorns. After the fall the rose got her thorns to remind people of their sin. Her beauty might been kept as memory of Paradise. In the antiquity Eros, the Greek God of Love, was represented as a fresh and rosy (color of roses), lively and cheerful boy with goldish hair (like the stamens). The arrows were like the thorns and his wings were like the petals of the rose. In beauty, shape and scent, the rose is outstanding and hence has become the most commonly used floral symbol in the West. Roses have symbolical meanings in classic and Christian art. For example Venus was associated with roses, symbolizing love and beauty, whereas Virgin Mary sometimes was called a « rose without thorns » because of her purity.

The Romantic French

"The Romantic French"

Once upon a time... in the center of the world, in the center of the universe there was a country that, just for this story's sake, we will call France. The people who lived there were romantic as can be. All the things they did had a certain “Je ne sais quoi”. For example “love” they wouldn't simply call it “love” but they called it “ l'amour ”.... awwwhhhh they were so romantic!

From this romantic perspective they invented a special shaped ring, reflecting the intense relationship between two people and they called this ring the “Toi et Moi”... (You and Me). It is not surprising that the Adin Museum of Fairy Tale Artifacts has been on the hunt to get these rings into its collection. And it is with great pride that we can show you this collection by clicking on the above depicted “Toi et Moi” ring.

Click the picture to get to the Museum's collection of "Toi and Moi" rings.

How to tell a True Princess?

How to tell a True Princess?

Once upon a time... there was a queen-mother that wanted to check if her future daughter-in-law was the real princess she claimed to be.

She went into the bed-room and hid there a beautiful Art Deco clip. In the morning the princess was asked how she had slept. "Oh, very badly!" said she. "I hardly closed my eyes all night. I felt a presence of sheer beauty."

Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that!

So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a 'real' princess; and the clip was put in the Adin Museum of Fairy Tale Artifacts, where it may still be seen, provided no one has bought it!

Click the picture for more information on this magnificent Art-Deco clip.