ABOUT:
It is my exciting goal to have one of these in my personal collection some day - just so fun to wear out and about with the most amazing sparkle! Crafted in platinum, this French early 1900s bracelet is set with over 8 carats of chunky old mine cut diamonds all the way around. They taper in size becoming larger towards the top / center of the bracelet. The diamonds being the star of the show, settle in nicely amidst the platinum, making this one wearable even in a yellow gold wrist stack where the diamonds can add the attention grabbing glitter effect.
The piece has a nice geometry with each diamond set in a square platinum bezel that is hinged to the next, allowing it to flex slightly to curve around the wrist. This also allows the piece to ripple and move so that the diamonds can catch the light. As an added design element, the vertical edges of the bracelet are hand engraved with linear wing like details.
Substantial enough to wear alone as well, measuring 6.4mm north south at the widest area of the top. It has a safety chain and side latch in addition to the push button clasp. Made for a smaller wrist, I would say 5 1/2 to 6 inches around.
Just to the side of catch we can spot the French hallmark for platinum (difficult to decipher but I have seen it many times so it is recognizable if looking for it.). The insert of the clasp is a later repair / replacement done in 14k white gold and stamped as such. Note that only that small tongue insert of the clasp is 14k white gold, the rest of the piece in its entirety is platinum.
The bracelet comes as pictured in an antique box that is not original to the piece, but is collectible in its own right - this piece deserves appropriate housing / storage. I could not close the bracelet around the box form so I stored it inside unlatched.
Please note the measurements as I have small hands and it can be difficult to decipher scale from photos.
MEASUREMENTS:
The old mine cuts are hand cut with the majority being cushion cut, so they vary in length, width and depth. They start at 3mm (and around .14 carat each) tapering up to 4.7mm (and around .45 carat each). I would never remove them from the piece for an exact measurement, but I measured each stone under magnification coming to a total of a little over 8 carats total weight in antique diamonds (8.11 according to my calculations but again this is an estimate).
It weighs 19 grams.
The line of square bezels is about 6.4mm north to south at the top widest part of the bracelet and 4.2mm at the back. Depth off the wrist is 3 to 4mm with the engraved sides leading up to the diamonds.
For a petite wrist, the bracelet measures about 6 inches with a tape measure wrapped around the inside. I have a 5 1/2 in wrist and it fits me well but does have room to spare. It spins around my wrist but it does not slide off my hand without opening. So I could get away with wearing it in a stack, or it could fit a larger wrist but I would say 5 to 6 inch wrist size is how it fits. The safety chain allows the bracelet to open an additional 2 inches to slide over the hand.
IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES:
As mentioned above the tongue insert of the clasp is a repair / replacement. It functions well, clicks into place, the push button loosens it and the side latch also clips securely to the little rivet on the other side. So it wears very securely There is a slight gap as seen in photos when the bracelet is latched but when worn to the inside of the wrist, this is not very visible.
There is an area around one of the larger stones with some darker patina around it. It doesn't appear to be soldered, the old mine cut diamond appearing original to the piece, but it does seem to move just slightly different between those two diamond set panels so perhaps some sort of reinforcement was done in that area at some point in its 100 plus years of life? The movement of the piece is not noticeable but you should be able to see the darker patina surround in the photos.
Typical antique hand cut diamonds with some slightly warm hues here and there but overall well matching and the chunky sparkle that these antique diamonds display reflects the light differently so as to face up brighter. These were cut long before the "Four C's" scale was invented for modern machine cut diamonds with their mathematically perfected facets. The modern grading scale for diamonds doesn't typical do justice to the uniqueness of these stones that were hand cut with methods and standards no longer practiced.
Also typical for antique stones, some have light natural inclusions, most being eye clean to slightly eye visible inclusions, just a few with a frosty crystal area or a larger silk eye visible inclusion. No large dark carbon spots, the diamonds are quite fiery without any cloudiness or dinginess. One stone has a frosty crease across the edge facets leaving an unpolished texture that is eye visible if you are seeking it out. None of the diamonds are chipped or cracked with loss - they all fill the bezels and have retained their original shape so any spots of loss are very shallow flakes but studying it under magnification I really only detected the one out of the 32 diamonds with an unpolished area.
Please note that all my pieces are pre-owned and in estate condition. They will have patina, surface wear, a few small nicks. These pieces may also have evidence of a sizing, some build up around the stones and / or inclusions seen under magnification, typical for antique pieces. I have mentioned any noticeable issues above and they are all still wearable and eager to be loved and accepted for many years to come, (the preservation of antique jewelry, even those with signs of their age and history, is important to me. : )
But - Please note due to age, this piece is not in mint condition. Pictures also serve as part of the description and condition report so please utilize the zoom feature which will magnify any wear significantly more than what is visible to the eye while wearing : )
SOCIAL:
Please feel free watch @mouseshouseantiques on Instagram for inventory drops, sneak peaks and previews! And check out my website www.MousesHouseAntiques.com as I can add more pics there so you can get extra looks : )
Additional cost for insurance, expedited shipping and signature upon delivery will be covered by me.
Box#md.^42
