Featured Turquoise silver tiara or comb? Antique or vintage?

Hi everyone,
This is a lovely item I purchased by mistake while I was testing the auction betting system, just before I bought the Medusa cameo.
I bought it by mistake, but I really like it, it was expensive, I have tested it and the top bit is sterling silver, gold wash or plated. The 3 comb like legs are metal.
I wonder if anyone can say how old it is, the style, is it British? I found few French ones similar.
What would it have been used for? Weddings?
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Simona
@KSW @Any Jewelry @Bronwen @PepperAnna @Fid @Ce BCA

 

@Simona Buhus. What a stunning piece! I love it! My guess would be a late Victorian tiara made with gilt washed silver filigree set with turquoise cabochons. I think it would have been worn to social events like balls or the opera. But I am a novice with regards to this, so I would love to hear from more knowledgeable folks.

 

MY thoughts would be for a celebration of some sort!! It's lovely!! The woman would have her hair up in a bun or at least partially in a bun, and that would look beautiful coming out of the top!!! MY thoughts again, might be Mexican or Italian, or I can always be waay off base!! DO wait for others please!!!

 

Not Mexican IMO. So pretty!

 

My first guess would be Italian. NICE! It would make one heckuva wedding tiara and after all it is both old and blue. (something old, something new, something borrowed (from a happily married woman) and something blue)

 

Fantastic fairytale! ❤️

 

Gorgeous, set with lovely Persian turquoise. Not specific to a country, general fashion in Europe and European influenced countries. So without marks, the origin is impossible to know.

Contrary to what many people think, these were worn by ladies of means for special occasions throughout Europe etc, even in the far north.

 

Ooh it’s gorgeous! Even if it was an expensive mistake it’s a stunning one!

 

Hope it’s worth what you paid or more! Nice piece.

I’ve made some big auction mistakes in the past year. A couple weeks ago I tried to bid $1200 or so on a gold lot. By the time I had the button pushed it had jumped to $1750 and I won it there. I wasn’t wanting to pay more than the 12 or maybe 13. In the same auction I left the auction page to do a quick google on a different window. I jumped back to the auction page and pushed “bid” on the item I was interested in. Turns out the page hadn’t updated yet since I had switched windows. The auction was already on the next item even though I was looking at a photo of the previous item. I was now the high bidder at $1700 on an antique Italian painting I didn’t want and had no faith I could sell to break even and get out unscathed. Thank goodness after about one minute there was another bid. I’ve never been so happy to be outbid.


Much earlier in the year I was preparing bfast while participating in an online auction. I was rinsing an apple off with a knife to cut it in my other hand. I knew an item was coming up I was interested in so I used my elbow to slide my laptop into a better place. In the process I unintentionally bid around $200 on and won a large Victorian chair. It took up tons of space and took months to sell but I did at least make $30 or so lol.

Be careful out there folks!!!

I still have that pile of gold I overbid on. Around 2k after fees. Luckily scrap price is way up at the moment. My saving Grace was going to be one really good salable piece but it was all pretty average and some badly damaged. So I’ll just get scrap for most or a bit over. I’ll probably still make a bit hopefully.

 

Lol, sorry but this is hilarious, I could almost feel you sweating from here!
Reminds me of that great bit in Tomb Raider where Angelina Jolie accidentally bids on something in the millions and the relief when she is out bid.

 

It was out loud yelling “please bid, please bid, please bid….” along with that sweat.

 

Lol, I have experienced the adrenaline of getting outbid once, that is even better than winning a lot lol
Shouting at the screen “ anyone, come on, anyone “ lol , it’s hilarious
I did pay for this tiara probably more than I would get for it, but an interesting idea came here, I could probably rent it to future brides, and make the money that way for the “loss” , one month , 4 brides should do it.
Xx

 

All you need are brides who know the tradition and you're in like Flynn. (dunno where that turn of phrase comes from, but it's old like the tiara.)

British/Anglo tradition or superstition, and an old one. The end is a silver sixpence in the bride's shoe, from the days of real silver coinage and pre-decimal British currency. Good luck, a happy marriage, and always having enough money are the ones I'm sure of.

 

By today’s standards, Mr. Flynn’s “exciting, romantic private life” would be illegal, and only considered exciting or romantic by the likes of Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump, and Prince Andrew. The actor had a penchant for young lovers & was accused of statutory rape simultaneously by two underage teens (both 17 I believe) at the height of his popularity.
Another girlfriend was only aged 15 years when they became an item…. the old saying becomes a bit more salacious once the Hollywood spin is unwound!

 

Maybe you could find a wedding boutique that sells/rents nice dresses and accoutrements to potentially rent it for you. Very unconventional way to recoup your cost but it could work. Doing it on your own would be tricky.
Edit: you could also just tell them they could sell it at X amount. People will spend irrational amounts of money for an item in that setting. Weddings, pets, funerals, people spend emotionally not rationally. So you could get more than it’s worth in the right setting. Who wouldn’t want that over some piece of modern junk if they already wanted something similar and had the $$$ or the Cc to put it on.

 

Man I am jealous. That is a lovely piece. You will want to look very closely with a loop for hallmarks. They may be small and hard to see without one and there is a lot of real estate on the piece. It is possible its custom, but even custom pieces the artisan would usually want to nick it with required markings. I do feel this was custom. On the first glance, I do not have the impression it is modern as the turquoise stones have a patina that suggests turn of the century/victorian kind of look.