Thursday, April 25, 2013

Antique Diamond Pendants

When I got it into my head that I want to find a somewhat affordable antique diamond pendant I went in search of one in the NY diamond district on 47th Street. If  you've never been to 47th street in NYC, it's quite the international experience. You've got Italian, Jewish, Russian, Chinese, Indian and Arabic sellers all competing for your attention. Fat, burly men stand outside of shops, like pimps, enticing passerbys in broken English to check out their merchandise. Looking to buy jewelry almost makes you feel dirty. 
Anyhow, there are only a few stores in the diamond district that sell genuine antique jewelry. I browsed through their selection and only found two Art Deco pendants, neither one remotely affordable. One of the antique dealers told me that pendants and earrings of the Edwardian and Deco periods are hard to find. This is why he only had rings and bracelets in his shop. Hmmm, hard to find you say? Out comes the trusty laptop. Yes, pendants are not as common as rings, but if you seek, thou shalt find. 

Here are some very nice antique diamond pendants that I found on eBay. As I already mentioned in my previous post, I am not affiliated with any eBay sellers.

Some of these pictures are quite horrendous, but if you've ever seen similar jewelry in real life, you can imagine how beautiful it really is. Photographing diamond is tough. The light must hit it just right to show how really sparkly they are. Just use your imagination. 

Another thing I wanted to mention about purchasing expensive jewelry on eBay is you should always bargain. Even if the seller does not have the "Best offer" option, it does not hurt to contact them and ask if they would be willing to go down on the price. As long as what you're offering them is reasonable, often times the sellers will agree. This is how I managed to score a few pieces of antique jewelry. Each seller that I contacted was willing to go down a little. Hey, every little bit helps, right?
Ok, I would totally be buying this one if I had $3,500 to spare.
Actually, given the amount of diamonds on this necklace, the price is probably a bargain. I would imagine that if this piece fell into the hands of an antiques dealer, they would be charging double. This is a perfect and well preserved specimen of an antique diamond pendant. The back is made of yellow gold and the face of the pendant is platinum. This type of two color craftsmanship is characteristic of early 20's century 
fine jewelry. I'm personally not very fond of yellow gold, but in the case 
of antique jewelry it doesn't bother me in the least. I have a pair of Art Deco earrings that are made this way and you can't even see the yellow gold when the earrings are worn.


Another lovely antique pendant. 
Looks like it was made in the Art Deco era. 


Here's another solid platinum pendant. I love the shape! The asking price is $2,250 or best offer, which is pretty reasonable for this jewelry piece. The appraisal papers that are included with this pendant claim it's market value is $4,500. 

That's right, the bail on this pendant is collapsible
and it converts into a brooch. Two pieces of jewelry in one!
The cutout or pierced detail is characteristic of period jewelry.

Here's another pendant that converts into a brooch.
The intricate filigree detail on this one is quite lovely. 

There's a total of 2.00 carats of diamond on this antique French pendant. 

These pictures really don't do this pendant justice. How I wish all fine jewelry sellers would invest into professional photography, or at least a good camera. Hey, if anyone iss reading this, I'm available to take
pictures of your jewelry. Why? Because that's what I do.

A little too flamboyant for my taste, but gorgeous non-the less!

Lovely Art Nouveau style with natural ruby in the center.
Made in England.

Crafted of 18K white gold with rose cut diamonds and natural sapphires.

If you can't afford to spend thousands of dollars on jewelry
but would still like to own an antique pendant, here's a 
nice little 10K gold, Art Deco filigree piece. It's $285 or best offer.










No comments:

Post a Comment