Oftentimes it can be hard to place the exact age of a piece of jewellery, as styles evolved slowly and organically over time. In a world without mass media, the diffusion and mixing of ideas and patterns was a slow and irregular process. Nonetheless, we can divide most jewellery into a few broad categories over […]
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Perhaps the most fun and intersting ways we can age and date very old jewellery is through artwork. Almost always signed, we can normally tell exactly which year a piece of art was painted in, unlike jewellery which is rarely signed or dated! It’s also wonderful to see how people wore jewellery, what type of […]
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An interesting recent project was a restoration of a sapphire and diamond three stone ring; over 100 years old, the claws had worn away, and the sapphire had become scratched. Although sapphires are exceptionally strong and tough, over a lifetime they can become scratched. In this case, long time wearing had scratched all of the […]
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The Dresden Green Diamond is one of the rarest diamonds in the world, both in terms of its characteristics and of its provenance. Perhaps only the Hope Diamond can match its wonderfully documented history. It is a modified pear shape brilliant cut diamond weighing approximately 41 carats, and is the largest natural green diamond ever […]
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Henry Morse (1826-1888) was a famous diamond cutter in Boston, who was responsible for major advancements in the science and skill of diamond cutting. He was taught by Dutch specialists, and although originally interested in cutting the largest diamond, he quickly moved to learning to cut the most beautiful diamond possible, even if that meant […]
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