CRUCIFORM French Antique 3.5 Carats 61 Rose & Old Mine Cut DIAMOND PENDANT 18k Gold Silver Cross Peach Foil Clusters Georgian

ABOUT:

Does anyone else out there describe old cut diamonds as wonderfully "crusty?" Just trying to convey the awesome texture of this piece. This cruciform pendant is set with 61 (!) hand cut old cut diamonds arranged in five clusters for mega sparkle. The two largest diamonds are old mine cuts with perruzzi like tendencies, with the long, triangular scissor cuts making a star pattern on the surface. The others are rose cut diamonds.

The piece is in 18k rose gold topped in silver as was customary for the period to set diamonds in a white metal. The dark patina of the silver is a beautiful contrast against the untamed sparkle of the old cut diamonds giving the piece a very moody vibe. As an added delight, some of the diamonds reflect a warm pink to golden to peachy hue from age to the foil backs. No real muddy spots from deterioration to the foil, just a lovely pop of color in some light. I love how the clusters are completely encrusted - you can see the center largest stone with the halo of medium sized stones around it, but then they added in a third range of smaller diamonds around those so it is quite impactful.

The diamonds are collet set and widen out further from what is visible so exact carat weights and depth are unknown but a conservative estimate by millimeter totals the piece at around 3 1/2 carats in diamonds.

MEASUREMENTS:

The piece is 35mm to the loop by 31mm wide. It weighs 4.7 grams. The five center diamonds mature 4.7mm / 4.5mm / 4mm / 3.5mm / 3.5mm. The others are around 2 to 2.5mm with the smallest ones in the third range around 1.3mm each. I would not remove the diamond from the piece for an exact carat measurement but we estimate around 3.5 Tdw.

IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES:

The loop on the back arches out some, I wonder if the piece was converted from something else? Plenty of patina to the silver collets so the piece reads darker in ambient light and brightens in the sun, but has a beautiful sparkle in all lighting conditions. Beautiful peachy hues to the foil. Typical antique diamonds - some are rough cut like untamed shards, others have a nicely dome rose cut shape but with some frosty facets because they were hand cut so long ago. The center old mine cut has a frosty inclusion and some tiny carbon specks on one area of the top. The bottom old mine cut has a shallow triangular shard of loss to the surface leaving a frosty unpolished spot there. It still fills the bezel so it appears complete to the eye in its original shape / outline, but the flakes of loss to the surface leave that area looking textured or matte finish to the eye.

This one needs gentle wear as any piece of this age with so many stones would. Some wear to the silver collets but none of the stones move. This is one you wouldn't want to get wet as that can cause rust and deterioration to the foil.

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 : )

I dearly love, collect, use and sell antiques so please check out my other listings and thanks so much for stopping by my shop!

SOCIAL:
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I am back from my inventory trips to Europe with quite a lot of antique treasures to share with you! I also have one additional inventory trip to Europe this fall so I will be rolling out new pieces almost every week from now, all the way until the holidays. Please stay tuned and feel free to follow on Instagram!

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