Exquisite Antique 19th Century Enamel Diamond Heart Pendant

The most divine and rare to find this antique rose cut diamond and guilloche enamel heart pendant.

She dates from the second half of the 19th century and is of Continental European origin. There are no hallmarks, she tests 14 karat gold. The enamel work on her is sublime, with engine turned background on gold and translucent, deep powder blue enamel with lovely green borders decorated with tiny clovers in gold enamel. The gold enamel is the same colour as her smooth gold back and sides. The bale is exquisite, made with silver over gold and set with tiny rose cut diamonds. Rose cut diamonds are also featured in the ribbon decoration on the front of the pendant, with one green stone, which is most likely an emerald, but it is too small to test, it may also be a green garnet topped doublet or a green paste stone. These were often used in jewellery of this age as equal to other gemstones.

The meaning of the front decoration is a bit of a mystery . Clearly this piece was commissioned individually and its meaning might have been very personal to the jeweller's client. We have never seen anything quite like this in all the years of working in antique jewellery and we are just fascinated by it. One theory is that the gold geometric pipe-like feature at the centre looks like sticks of dynamite. If that is the case then this pendant might have been made to commemorate the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871. Dynamite was first used as a weapon in this war by Prussian army and played a large role in the defeat of France. Dynamite was first discovered in 1867 by Swedish born Alfred Nobel. He had his discovery patented prior to 1870 and regretted his invention after the Franco-Prussian war, as he realised just what it can be used for. Alfred Nobel was a pacifist and later established a Nobel Foundation, which still gives a Nobel Peace prize until today. The age of the pendant as well as the style of workmanship would confirm this, but this theory is not confirmed, perhaps there is another explanation.

The heart is a lovely, large size and measures 25.3 mm top to bottom and 24.8 mm side to side, while the total length of the pendant with the bale is 33.7 mm. It is 3.4 mm thick, not including the decoration on the front and is heavy, weighing 10.47 grams. Condition wise it has a tiny dent on its side and a small and smooth protruding area at the back by the bale. Please see our photos. These small imperfections do not impact the stability or the look of the pendant, which is in lovely condition otherwise, including the enamelwork.

We are in love .... with this incredible piece of jewellery. It is as rare as it is gorgeous and we rather like the mystery !
 

* Please kindly note that other jewellery in our photos is for your inspiration and not included in this listing *
 
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