Featured A. Golay L. & Fils. enamel brooch - portrait? how old? etc.

Discussion in 'Jewelry' started by Bookahtoo, Jul 20, 2017.

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  1. Bookahtoo

    Bookahtoo Moderator Moderator

    This brooch is a little more than an inch wide and tall. I believe it is enamel on some kind of metal - I see no indications it is gold. There appear to be diamond chips (or perhaps rhinestones) embedded on the front. It has a patent number and a number 38 - maybe the model number?
    How old is it? 1880s? Is this a portrait brooch or a generic picture of a pretty lady?
    Any and all comments welcomed.


    DSCN6790.JPG

    DSCN6792.JPG
     
    Bookahtoo, Jul 20, 2017
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  2. Bakersgma

    Bakersgma Well-Known Member

    What ever it is made of, it's lovely!
     
    Bakersgma, Jul 20, 2017
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  3. Bookahtoo

    Bookahtoo Moderator Moderator

    Thank you!

    Now that I've posted the pictures here, I can see that there is something on the pin, but I can't read it. It looks like numbers. What should I be looking for?
     
    Bookahtoo, Jul 20, 2017
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  4. Bakersgma

    Bakersgma Well-Known Member

    Beneath the pin? BREVETE on the left and +4953 on the right?
     
    Bakersgma, Jul 20, 2017
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  5. Debora

    Debora Well-Known Member

    Debora, Jul 20, 2017
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  6. moreotherstuff

    moreotherstuff Izorizent

    A Sarah Bernhardt type, but probably just an allegorical representation of "Flora".
     
    moreotherstuff, Jul 20, 2017
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  7. Debora

    Debora Well-Known Member

    Late Victorian but perhaps a bit later. Pansies were a favorite Art Nouveau motif so closer to 1890, I'd think.

    Debora
     
    Debora, Jul 20, 2017
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  8. Bookahtoo

    Bookahtoo Moderator Moderator

    Thanks Debora. The name change makes it prior to 1900 - thanks for the link.

    I see what I think are numbers on the pin closure itself.
     
    Bookahtoo, Jul 20, 2017
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  9. Hollyblue

    Hollyblue Well-Known Member

    The stones are too out of focus when enlarged,but they look like rose cut diamonds or raw diamond crystals.
     
    Hollyblue, Jul 20, 2017
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  10. Debora

    Debora Well-Known Member

    High end jeweler. Are you sure not gold, etc.? Lots of work involved for base metals and paste. And very likely jeweler has archive and can provide more identification. Might even have been a custom piece.

    Debora
     
    Debora, Jul 20, 2017
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  11. Debora

    Debora Well-Known Member

    Debora, Jul 20, 2017
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  12. Bookahtoo

    Bookahtoo Moderator Moderator

    Thanks Debora. I couldn't get it to work.
     
    Bookahtoo, Jul 20, 2017
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  13. Debora

    Debora Well-Known Member

    At a glance, it appears requests are to be made via e-mail to this address. Five day turnaround.

    patent-search@ipi.ch

    Debora
     
    Debora, Jul 20, 2017
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  14. Bookahtoo

    Bookahtoo Moderator Moderator

    Okay - I'll try that. Thanks!
     
    Bookahtoo, Jul 20, 2017
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  15. 916Bulldogs123

    916Bulldogs123 Well-Known Member

    916Bulldogs123, Jul 20, 2017
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  16. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    evelyb30, Jul 20, 2017
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  17. Bdigger

    Bdigger Well-Known Member

    I see the mark on the pin that you are talking about. It is right above the center of the star in the picture. It looks to be on the top of the pin so all we are getting is a skewed view of it. There is also a 38 on the brooch itself just to the right of the star.
    The mark on the pin looks like an A in the middle of 2 other characters. But I can't be sure. It may be just an A in a circle.
    Other then those observations I got nada.
     
    Bdigger, Jul 20, 2017
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  18. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    It is lovely. I agree, a representation of Flora. Didn't Sarah Bernhardt have dark hair?
    Breveté means patented, the cross is the Swiss cross, which also appears in the red cross flag (adaptation, Henri Dunant was Swiss), the number the patent number.
     
    Any Jewelry, Jul 21, 2017
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  19. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    The use of pansies as a motif was part of the Victorians' flower language and goes back to the 1840s. The other name for them is heartsease. The image is High Pre-Raphaelite - think Rossetti, for example. Or Holman Hunt.
     
    Ownedbybear, Jul 21, 2017
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  20. kyratango

    kyratango Bug jewellery addiction!

    I can't open the two last pics... But sure the stones are rosecut diamonds, Golay was a reputable jeweller, and from what I see on the enamel portrait and details, I can bet it is on gold.
    I'd have grasped the brooch in one blink...:)
    Pansy... Portrait brooch... And damaged enamel to restore! Love your piece:joyful:
     
    kyratango, Jul 21, 2017
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