This exquisite Art Deco watch has been given on loan by Adin to DIVA. Antwerp Home of Diamonds.DIVA is Antwerp's amalgamated Silver Museum and Diamond Museum. Although we feel very honoured to have our jewellery on display in this prestigious house of diamonds and jewellery,this also means that temporarily we haven't got this piece in our store supply. If you're interested in this precious piece, we would be obliged to make all the necessary arrangements.Just let us know well in advance when you will be dropping by and we'll do our best to have the jewel here at our premises.
This 14K bi-colour gold watch suspending as a pendant from a matching brooch is enhanced into an authentic Art Deco emblem by its geometrical blue and black enamelled patterns. In between the stylish tincture, a green with blackenamelled flower design floats on a surface of old mine cut diamonds set in white gold. Behind this shimmering surface, a graceful watch is confined in a yellow gold case richly engraved with a flower motif. No timepiece could make youloose track of time more than this subtle and sophisticated 1920's jewel.
Although all signs direct to the conclusion that this jewel was NOT made in France, we found that it is most probablydesigned and made by Boucheron. Check the pictures to see an old picture of this watch in a book dedicated to Boucheron.
From October 21st, 2013 till December 9th, 2013, this jewel was exhibited at the Art Deco exhibition organised by the Antwerp Diamond Museum in their Diamond Pavilion at the MAS. The MAS is an abbreviation for Museum aan de Stroom which translates to something like "Museum to the Flow". A new landmark building in Antwerp, a must-see when you are in Antwerp, city of diamonds!To see all our Art Deco jewelry that was at the museum's exhibition, click here.
Antique jewelry object group: ladies watch, pendant and brooch
Condition: very good condition - (more info on our condition scale)
Country of origin: Austria (Vienna)
Style: Art Deco - Art Deco is an eclectic artistic and design style which had its origins in Paris in the first decades of the 20th century. The style originated in the 1920s and continued to be employed until after World War II. The term "art deco" first sawwide use after an exhibition in 1966, referring to the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes that was the culmination of high-end style moderne in Paris. Led by the best designers in the decorative arts such as fashion, and interior design, Art Deco affected all areas of design throughout the 1920s and 1930s, including architecture and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as painting, the graphic arts and film. At the time, this style was seen aselegant, glamorous, functional and modern. - See also: Art Decoor more info on styles
Style specifics: Abstract motives and geometrical forms are quite typical for the Art Deco period. Art Deco moved away from the soft pastels and organic forms of its style predecessor, Art Nouveau, and embraced influences from many different styles and movements of the early 20th century, including Neoclassical, Constructivism, Cubism, Modernism, and Futurism. Its popularity peaked in Europe during the Roaring Twenties and continued strongly in the United States through the 1930s. Although many design movements havepolitical or philosophical roots or intentions, Art Deco was purely decorative.
Extra on Boucheron: Boucheron - A leading French jewelry firm, founded in 1858 in the Palais Royal, Paris, by Frédéric Boucheron (1830-1902) and now having its main establishment at 26 Place VendOme, Paris, with branches in London and elsewhere.Frédéric Boucheron was succeeded by his son Louis (1874-1959), in turn succeeded by his son Gerard (b. 1910), whose son Alain (b. 1948) is now active in the business. The London office, established in 1907, is at 180 New Bond St. In 1960the firm at the request of the Shah of Iran, set up in Tehran the display of the Royal Jewelry Collection. Boucheron is noted as a specialist in gems as well as a designer of luxury and medium-priced jewelry.
Period: ca. 1925 - (events and facts in 1925)
Source of inspiration: Mother Nature (see also: flower symbolism)
Material: 14K bi-color gold (yellow and white), although most of this jewel is in yellow gold, the diamonds are set in white gold. This finds it origin in a much older period (see explanation on silver on gold). - (more info on precious metals)
Technique: Enamelling is an old and widely-adopted technology. The ancient Egyptians applied enamels to pottery and stone objects. The ancient Greeks, Celts, Russians, and Chinese also used enameling processes on metal objects. Enamel is the colorful result offusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 degrees Celsius. The powder melts and flows and hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating on metal, glass or ceramic. According to some sources, the word enamel comes fromthe High German word smelzan (to smelt) via the Old French esmail. Used as a noun, "an enamel" is a usually small decorative object, coated with enamel coating, such as a champlevé or a cloisonné (different techniques).
Diamonds:42 various old mine brilliant cut diamonds with a total estimated weight of approx. 1.30 crt. Note: All diamond weights, color grades and clarity are approximate since the stones were not removed from their mounts to preserve the integrity of the setting.
Total diamond weight: approx. 1.30 crt.
Birthstones: Diamond is the birthstone (or month stone) for April. - (more info on birthstones)
Hallmarks: The hallmark is a horse head with a letter "W", wich was in use in Vienna, Austria after 1922. - (more info on hallmarks)
Dimensions: brooch width 2.97 cm (1.17 inch), watch height 4.50 cm (1.77 inch)
Boucheron is a French jewelry house founded in 1858 by Frédéric Boucheron.
The jeweller worked with a wide range of golds as well as precious gems like rubies and peridots. His jewellery was inspired by motifs from nature like the snake, later chosento be the house's symbol. The first Boucheron boutique was established in 1858 in the Galerie de Valois at the Palais Royal in Paris. In subsequent years, Frédéric Boucheron opened an atelier and began working with his nephew, Georges Radius. The play on shapes, manipulations of the material and combinations of gems had found their audience by the end of the 19th century. Boucheron was now attracting a clientele of writers, artists and princes.
When Fédéric Boucheron died in 1902, his son, Louis, took over the house. As heir, he contributed to the label’s development, by reaching further than France alone. He opened a branch in Moscow and he also established a collaboration with the young jeweler, Pierre Sterlé. In 1954, his children, Fred and Gérard Boucheron, were next to take over the brand. Maintaining the inherited expertise, they established the label in Japan during the 1970s, during which time Jane Birkin famously posed holding a Boucheron diamond necklace.
Alain Boucheron became head of the company in 1971, and in 2000, the Gucci group acquired the Boucheron jewelry house. Under the direction of Jean-Christophe Bedos, new boutiques were inaugurated all over the world. In 2007, Boucheron was the first jeweler to open an e-commerce shop in Europe. In 2011, Claire Choisne was named creative director of the jewelry house at Place Vendôme. After a century and a half, the Boucheron jewelry house has become an important reference of fine jewelry and timepieces.
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