GEORGIAN JEWELRY & SMALL GEORGIAN ANTIQUES ARE BACK IN FASHION! 

You will find Nicole La Bay Antiques here:

INTRODUCTION

The Georgian times encompass most of the 18th Century up to the reign of Queen Victoria in 1837.
There are 4 Georgian British kings, the most famous being George III, who reigned for the longest time, lost the War of Independence, and was portrayed in an excellent 1994 film:  "The madness of King George", that I definitely recommend.

This is the pre-industrialization world and it touches us today as having incredible charm and poetry.

Most of the jewelry and artifacts on the market are from the late Georgian era, roughly 1780 to 1837.

SMALL ANTIQUES
I will be brief as there are not many items for sale on the market.

1. Boxes

Mostly small to medium boxes, tea caddies, small holders and cases, and some vanity items.

A lot of simple or more elaborate marquetry boxes, including very interesting cutlery or candles wall containers that are long vertical wooden shapes with an ornate cut out top.
The wood of choice is flame mahogany. Marquetry is usually fairly naive. 

Tea caddies often have octogonal shapes. Georgian tea caddies were reproduced during the Edwardian era, so be careful.

2. Tortoiseshell and ivory
These are extremely refined artifacts. Usually "piqué"work of silver, gold and ocasionally pewter in the tortoiseshell. Tobacciana items, coin purses and card holders.
Also flat ivory patches or toothpick boxes. 
 
GEORGIAN JEWELRY

Characteristics:

First of all, nearly all Georgian jewelry is VERY small, as people were really tiny at the time. Many men's rings will fit women's fingers today, and women's rings are pinkie rings. So always verify the measurements of each piece carefully, so as not to be disappointed!

1. Mounting is often silver for the stones setting, and gold for the shank.
2. Most stones are roughly cut and if diamonds do not sparkle as much as today, and look far more grayish, there is enormous antique charm to these ancient cuts.

3. Mounting is closed at the back to allow the engraving of initials.
4. To compensate for the lack of light going through the stones, most of them are foiled back.

Mourning Jewelry
This is very in right now. There is hair work of all kinds in Georgian mourning jewelry, including entire miniature landscape scenes done with hair (willows, etc..)
"Lace"or Fichu" pins mostly rectangular with rounded edges with a visible or hidden rock crystal compartment showing hair.
Rings have small hair compartment too, or the shank is made of braided hair. Enamel frames in black and gold often gives the name of the deceased.

Wedding jewelry

Some jewelry marked "Forget me not", often enamel on gold, is not for mourning purposes, but actually celebrates a wedding. However, the moon crescent as a symbol of a honeymoon, seems to have appeared later, in the Victorian times.

Memento Mori
These are the most radical expressions of mourning, verging on the cult of death. Skulls of all kinds sometimes mixed with snakes. Some of the skulls are conspicuous, some are more mysterious, with the shape of the skull only legible at an angle for instance, or hidden in a secret compartment.

Cannetille
Extremely refined, minutely ornate gold work, similar to the gold jewelry production of ancient civilizations like the Babylonians.

Cut steel
Shoe buckles mostly but also belts and jewelry. A lot has rusted unfortunately and is not really wearable.

Paste
Paste is everywhere in Georgian jewelry and costs nearly as much as real stones. Even queens like Marie Antoinette wore paste!

The Haley comet of 1835

Miniature representation of the comet, usually with a big stone at the bottom.

You will find Nicole La Bay Antiques here:

(c) Nicole La Bay June 2008