DRAGONFLY French Antique Necklace Victorian Tricolor 18k Rose Gold Figural Pin Pendant Old Mine Cut DIAMOND on Chain

ABOUT:

Oh those clever Victorians and their wonderful, whimsical figural jewelry! Thank heavens for them!
Here we have a fabulous and nice sized (1.6 inch) tricolor gold dragonfly brooch, already wearable as a pendant and affixed by chain to each wing. It is set with an old mine cut diamond at the center and has two small red (I suspect garnet) eyes.

Special fabrication - Beautiful movement with the most delicious tricolor gold patina. Rosy and warm with some areas of rosy highlights and others of buttery glow. The detail on the wings are green gold with little white spots decorating the wings. This one could also be permanently converted with the pin parts removed completely, the pin parts could even be nipped off at home. But It doesn't affect how the piece wears so I am selling it as it came to me. It is on a shorter chain to wear close to the neck (please note the measurements as we all come in wonderfully different shapes and sizes).

Found in France, with their hallmarks for 18k gold on the pin post and the clasp, the hallmarks are partial and difficult to make out.

The Victorians were fascinated with nature and also with jewelry, and we see some wonderful designs come from the period incorporating both of these delights. As the figural pieces of the Victorian era often held a symbolism, the dragonfly was thought to new beginnings, change, transformation, but also renewal.

For me, it gives me great memories about these gentle creatures - taking me back to when I was a girl, floating in the lake at my grandparents primitive Wisconsin cottage. The dragonflies would come by for a rest, perching on knees and toes and shoulders, gentle as can be. And we also liked seeing them around as they are predators of pesky biting horseflies and mosquitoes (any other Midwesterners out there that hear me on this? : )

Please note the measurements as I have small fingers and it can be difficult to determine scale from pictures. Some of my buyers "draw out" an example to get an idea of scale in person.

Antique Boxes, props, chains, bannisters, mice : ) not included.

MEASUREMENTS:

The dragonfly is 42mm x 23mm. The chain is 14 1/2 inches stretched end to end. It weighs 8.9g.

The diamond measures about 3.7mm.

IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES:

There is a bit of frosty residue around the base of the diamond, one side being the unpolished girdle that we expect to see but the other side looks like a bit of adhesive residue? The diamond has a nice sparkle but does have a few frosty spots. This is not really eye visible but I always study everything under strong magnification. There is a weld spot on the back of the tail, I'm not sure why, maybe there was a loop there that was smoothed down? The loops at the wings appear to have been added after the fabrication of the brooch, but all parts appear to be antique. Beautiful patina.

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 : )

Striking to wear with the figural shape.

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