Featured Help dating gold micromosaic earrings?

I found these in a lot of costume jewelry I purchased online. They test as 18 and 22Kt gold and weigh about 26 grams. They are clip-on style and it looks like they can be worn with or without the dangles on the bottom. Other than a few missing glass pieces on one earring, they are in amazing condition. I was stunned when I pulled them out of a ziplock bag of costume pieces. I am having trouble finding others like them so I can't figure out what time period they are from. I've seen others that are similar, but they are all Egyptian revival and these look Roman. Does anyone know when they might have been made?

 

These are so, SO stunning! What an amazing and lucky find!!! The tessera are so creatively and well done in those portraits and borders.

Obviously the clips are newer....it looks like they might have put an entire new plate with the clip on the back, since they're a different color and that bit of plate that sticks above the design is a little strange. Archeological revival 1800s day and night earrings?

 

I think they're absolutely stunning,congrats-the Gods were on your side that day ! Wouldn't know what clues to look for in a lot like that-did the other costume jewelry look antique ?

 

Thank you! The clips did throw me off, and they are 18K, vs. the 22K on the rest. Great information.

 

The other pieces were signed Napier, Trifari, etc., which was why I bought the lot. There was only one photo and I could barely see these earrings in it so I had no idea what they were.

 

Excellent photos

 

See if there's a bit of a line between the 18k and 22k on the side, and that will probably cinch it that the whole back is a replacement. They're expensive enough I can expect a professional well-done update from a good jeweler.

I'm so happy for you but also insanely jealous. I love micro mosaic and they are never this well done unless they are very old and VERY expensive!

 

It actually looks like there may be a little bit of resin between the new and old backs. I'm not sure they are soldered, which is very strange for solid gold. I'll have to clean them to find out for sure.

 

The omega clips are probably 18K since 22K would not hold the tension for very long.

 

Somptuous!!!! They deserve to bear Castellani or Giuliano mark
Same era!
That lot must have been a really good buy...

 

Mid 19th Grand Tour, those are. Borders are Etruscan Revival. Hell of a find.

 

great find.....

should there be posts..?

.

 

I think they are reminiscent of the Byzantine mosaics of Ravenna, and could be a souvenir from there.

 

I paid

I don't see any rough spots or areas where they look to have been removed. If there were posts, they were professionally removed and polished afterwards. I tried them on and they hold pretty securely.

 

Good to know, thank you!

 

Thank you!

 

I almost feel bad about how little I paid for the lot. Almost.

 

Somebody's great grans spent a lot on these and a descendant thought enough of them to update them....and then someone probably hid them and never expressed their value to anyone else.

If you're going to re-sell then definitely do your research. This is the type that end up in high end jewelers for thousands. Especially portraits... Usually you see florals, buildings and birds.

 

This story reminds me of a friend of mine who bought a bunch of shoes at a local estate sale. They were from a once famous shoe store here in Jax called LaRose . He bought them because of the name and discovered 2 things once he got them home...1st was the lady had like size 5 feet (he got so excited by the name he forgot to check) 2nd was a pair of real diamond clips she had used on a pair and I guess forgot them . He sold them for several 1000 dollars .Dont know if he still has the shoes ! Fun article if you are into shoes.https://www.jaxhistory.org/portfolio-items/larose-shoes/

 

That's awesome!