Burlington Arcade – then and now

                      Burlington Arcade with its beautiful new floors – we are huge fans!

Hello my dearest one, you might have wondered why there have been so few new blog posts lately and I can only blame it on the bane of my misery: IT.  But things should be up and running now so that we can get back to our beloved antique jewellery!

It has been a few really fun weeks in the antique shop; we have had some beautiful pieces come through the door and we are now in the middle of putting together the Christmas Catalogue! (I know right, in August!?)!  But it is all great fun and I am learning TONS, and obviously passing on the most interesting information to you fine folks!

      A few diamond set clasps for necklaces that I was showing a client – on top of an old                                                Burlington Arcade postcard

Yesterday three photographs of the Burlington Arcade at the beginning of the 19th century popped up on my desk.  We have looked at the history of the Arcade before, in the blog post the Burlington Arcade in London, but there are a few more fun pieces of information left to learn:

               Antique photographs featuring the Burlington Arcade – at Richard Ogden

In the top photo you can see one of the Beadles (the gentlemen guarding the Arcade) addressing a man with an umbrella, as you are not allowed to carry open umbrellas in the Arcade.  Legend has it that even after the bombings in the 1940s destroyed the roof of the Arcade the Beadles would enforce the no-umbrella law – that is how seriously they take their duties!

                       The new floors of the Burlington Arcade, as modelled by Fluffy

And you might not know this, but whistling is not allowed in the Arcade either, and there is quite a shocking reason to this: during the 1800s the first floors in the Arcade were used by “working ladies”, and every time that the police approached the Arcade someone would whistle to warn these ladies – and the men who were with them – so that they could make a quick escape!  So whenever someone walks down the Arcade whistling, they get a kind reminder from the Beadles that it is not allowed.  I do in fact hear quite a few people every week trying to whistle a little tune in the arcade, and it is a shame in a way that you are not allowed to, as the acoustics are so great now that we have the beautiful new floors there!

                             Then and Now – the entrance of the Burlington Arcade

And in the bottom postcard we have a view of the entrance to the Arcade before it was redesigned in the 30s.  I had a lot of fun putting together the two photos above, as they really highlight how much has changed in these past 100 years – just look at people’s outfits!  Not to mention all the vehicles blocking the way for my perfect photo!!

I would love to hear which one of the two designs you prefer – and also whether you have visited the Arcade and maybe have some special memories from there?  For example seeing a pair of glorious earrings, or maybe shopping for an engagement ring?

The Wallace Collection in London

Hello dearest, I hope that your summer has been just wonderful so far!  I thought that I would share with you today my trip to The Wallace Collection, as it was just such a wonderful experience!  I went there with a friend of mine and we took a whole afternoon to wander through the different rooms and we also had afternoon tea in their glorious courtyard restaurant.  The collection is the perfect sneak peek inte the life of London’s high society some hundred years ago, so come along, let’s check it out:

One of my favourite rooms at the Wallace Collection – I just love the combination of the wallpaper and the gold frames and gold furniture

You will find the Wallace Collection just behind Selfridges, and as you enter the building you leave all modern day things behind and become surrounded by furniture, armour, porcelain, objects d’art and paintings from the 15th to the 19th century.  There is a great emphasis on French 18th century furniture, with over five hundred pieces, so it almost feels like stepping into the private home of Marie Antoinette!

One of the beautiful rooms at the Wallace Collection

The Wallace Collection is the result of five generations collecting souvenirs from around the world for over a century, and it includes pieces like Rembrandt’s Good Samaritan; six paintings by Canaletto, who was considered one of the finest landscape painter of his time; and a gold dagger believed to have belonged to Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor famous for having erected the Taj Mahal.

The collection was built by the First, Second, Third and Fourth Marquesses of Hertford and when the Fourth Marquess’s illegitimate son Richard Wallace inherited the collection in 1870, he bought Hertford House.  When he then died in 1890, he left everything to his wife Julie-Amélie-Charlotte Castelnau, who in turn left the Wallace Collection to the nation.  It opened as a museum in 1900.  

A painting of Madame de Pompadour by François Boucher in 1759

The Souvenir by Jean-Honoré Fragonard at The Wallace Collection. Rousseau’s heroine, Julie carves the initial of her lover on the bark of a tree, while observed by her pet spaniel, the symbol of her fidelity.

There are spectacular paintings on display and so much to learn!  For example, I found out that a dog in a paintings is a symbol of fidelity, so when the high society ladies had their portraits painted – almost like a modern day contact ad – they would often incorporate a dog in the picture to show that they possessed this trait.  I personally would have loved to see more jewellery from the family, but I suppose that has gone somewhere else – there are however a few pieces on display well worth looking at: adorned with rubies, sapphires and other beautiful gemstones.

More of the paintings, again, with a glorious wallpaper as the backdrop

Oh how much I loved this room!  I know that one cannot decorate a regular home like this, but I might still try…!!!

Oriental and European Arms and Armour at the Wallace Collection

There is also something for the tough guys here, as you will find European and Oriental arms and armour collections with almost 2500 pieces on display.  The horse outfit above I can assure you is rather intimidating when viewed from close, as it is massive!

And when you visit, do make sure that you have lunch or afternoon tea in the stunning courtyard: it is covered by a tall glass roof, so you get all the sunlight, yet you can still eat outside even if it pours down with rain – not to mention what it would be like to sit there, under the stars, on a Friday or Saturday evening and enjoy their famous French cuisine.

The Wallace Collection

And please do share your experience with us here, as we would love to hear all about it!

‘A day of antiques: looking beyond the trade at Grays’

Pendant earrings by Andrew Prince – who is giving a talk at Grays Antique Centre on Monday 15th of June

Ladies and Gents, I am so excited to let you know that on MONDAY we can all visit Grays Antique Centre and listen to talks spanning the arts, antiques and collecting spheres – speakers include our very own Andrew Prince, BBC2 Collectaholics Mark Hill, the owner of Grays and Alfies Antiques, Bennie Gray and many others!  I sure will be going and hope to see you there!

Grays Antique Centre – London Talks

Tickets are very reasonably priced at £10 (and include a glass of prosecco!) with a discount for multiple purchases and they have set up the talks to run throughout the day as follows:

Grays Antique Centre Monday 15th June 2015

11am: ‘Luxury: Between Opulence and Minimalism’, Professor Giorgio Riello
12pm: ‘From Downton to Gatsby, Jewellery and Fashion from 1890 to 1929’, Andrew Prince
1pm: ‘Undressing Antiques’, Mark Hill
2pm: ‘Antiques: Looking to the future’, Bennie Gray
3pm: ‘How London’s heritage brands contributed to the war effort’ with Q&A, Penelope Sacorafou and Caroline Groves
4pm: ‘Post-War Rye Pottery: History and Collecting’, Elisabeth Bogdan
5pm: ‘Contemporary Chinese Print-Making’, Dr Anne Farrer
Price: £10 per talk, £18 for two or £25 for three
Duration: 45 minutes
Tickets will include a glass of prosecco and are available online at www.foxandsquirrel.com/london-talks/ or in person from reception at Grays on South Molton Lane.

Antique evening bag, Grays Antique Centre (NOT the copyright of Decades of Elegance – the blog is playing up today!)

Amethyst & Diamond Heart Ring.Spectrum. (NOT the copyright of Decades of Elegance – the blog is playing up a bit today!)

So I am very much hoping to see you at Grays on Monday my dear, until then have a wonderful weekend!

Tickets can be bought here: Fox and Squirrel – London Talks 15th June 2015.

Suffragette Jewellery

An extraordinary set of suffragette jewellery from Moira Jewels at Richard Ogden.  Purple is represented by amethysts, green by peridots and white by pearls.

This exceptional piece of jewellery, referred to as Suffragette Jewellery, came into the shop the other day and since suffragette jewellery has such an important and fascinating role in history, I thought that we would take a closer look:

Suffragette Jewellery from Moira Jewels

The term Suffrage means the right to vote through the democratic process and in the late 19th and early 20th century members of women’s organisation movements  were referred to as Suffragettes.  In 1897 the The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) was formed.  The NUWSS weren’t very successful in their progress for the cause, something that a few members found very frustrating, and in 1903 campaigner Emmeline Pankhurst broke away from the party and founded The Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) together with her daughters.  

Suffragette Jewellery at Moira Jewels 

The motto of the WSPU was “Deeds not Words” and they took a rather militant approach to campaigning, when compared to other suffragist group at the time; committing acts of arson and vandalism and going on hunger strikes when imprisoned.  You may have heard of Emily Davison, who died after jumping out of the crowd in front of King George V’s racehorse in the Epsom Derby in June 1913.

In 1906 the British press started referring to the ladies as Suffragettes and there was widespread support for the cause from the public.  In 1908 the official colours of WSPU were declared: Purple stood for dignity, White for purity and Green for hope – and you can see these three colours in the pictures above and below.  The WSPU’s honorary treasurer Mrs Pethick Lawrence described the meaning of the colours as:

“Purple…is the royal colour…It stands for
the royal blood that flows in the veins of
every suffragette, the instinct of freedom
and dignity…white stands for purity in
private and public life…green is the colour
of hope and the emblem of spring.”

Suffragette Jewellery from Moira Jewels

Protesters in their hundreds would wear the colours and march behind similarly coloured banners – and Mappin & Webb, London jewellers to royalty, issued a catalogue of Suffragette Jewellery in time for Christmas 1908.  The same year 30,000 women took part in a demonstration in Hyde Park and they all wore accessories in these colours to  express their commitment to the cause.  Between a quarter and half a million people came to watch this extraordinary march.

A beautiful suffragette bracelet at Moira Jewels in Richard Ogden, the Burlington Arcade

In 1909, leading suffragettes Emmeline Pankhurst and Louise Eates were both presented with specially commissioned pieces in purple, white and green.  In 1917 the WSPU changed their name to The Women’s Party and finally, in 1918 British women over the age of 30, who met certain property qualifications, were given the right to vote.  In 1928 suffrage was extended to all women over the age of 21.

Stepping back in time at Chiswick House and Gardens

So after our trip to the Chiswick Carboot Sale the other week, my friend and I went to Chiswick House and Gardens, which she had heard to much about – and boy was I in for a surprise!  I entered the grounds thinking that it would be just another lovely park and yet this is the view that greeted us:

Chiswick House and Gardens

Chiswick House and Gardens

A glorious neo-Palladian villa built in 1729

… the stunning stairs leading up to the “house”…

… the architectural details were just breathtaking!

My friend and I had a little wander outside the house before we decided that it was time for some afternoon tea – of course!  It was one of those warm late summer Sundays so we sat outside and enjoyed the most delicious cream tea:

Afternoon Tea at Chiswick House and Gardens

We then continued on to having a walk in the garden, which was just so stunning with soft gravel paths and perfectly maintained lawns with flowers of all sorts covering the grounds:

The beautiful Chiswick Garden

The gardens at Chiswick cover an impressive 65 acres, so there is plenty to explore.  We walked down a hidden pathway that ended up by a tall monument and a beautiful rose garden, before continuing our stroll past some impressive old buildings and statues (you will see a gorgeous lion a bit further down in the post!)

Some romantic late summer roses 

I can’t imagine a more romantic place for a walk with a loved one

I learnt that Chiswick House Gardens is the birthplace of the English Landscape Movement and that it has been the inspiration for some stunning gardens around the world – including Central Park in New York.  It was originally created by Lord Burlington and William Kent in 1729 and you can probably see that they drew inspiration from Italy and Italian landscape painting.  Before becoming this romantic and luscious garden that it is today, the style of the garden was very formal, designed in the renaissance style.  One of my favourite things about the garden is that there are so many little paths that you can follow, which means that you are bound to run into new and unexpected details throughout your visit!

The Conservatory at Chiswick House and Gardens

The inside of this lovely conservatory, which is the home to the oldest camellia collection in England 

Some interesting historic facts in the Conservatory

The Beatles made some promotional videos at the Chiswick Gardens back in the 60s

For all of you that adore camellias, a visit to the Conservatory is a must!  The 6th Duke of Devonshire commissioned this grand conservatory and had it designed by Samuel Ware, who completed it in 1813.  It stood as the forerunner of many subsequent glass buildings, among others the extraordinary Crystal Palace in Sydenham, London.  As for the collection of camellias (a flower commonly found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia) the Conservatory still features some plants surviving from those planted in 1828.  No surprise that this is thought to be the oldest camellia collection in England, and possibly also outside China and Japan!  According to the Chiswick House and Garden website it includes what is thought to be one of only two surviving ‘Middlemist Reds’ in the world.

Chiswick House and Gardens

Chiswick House and Gardens

Chiswick House and Gardens

Overlooking his kingdom…

Chiswick House and Gardens

When it comes to visiting these stunning gardens around the UK you will always have a unique visit, no matter what time of the year you decide to go.  Mid-winter invites us to a steaming hot cup of tea and cake after a walk in the winter garden, whereas springtime shows an explosion of colours and beauty… not to mention the enchanting autumn coat in yellow, gold, orange and green that you will experience within the next few months!  So give yourself a little treat in the shape of a visit to this beautiful haven that is Chiswick House and Gardens, and do tell us about your visit afterwards!

The Beautiful Black Opal

Oh I am so excited about today’s post!!  Yesterday in the Richard Ogden shop I suddenly got my hands on this black opal and diamond ring, and so I thought that we could look closer at this extraordinary stone.  It is the one in the photo below to the left, and you can see how it is so beautifully surrounded by diamonds.  The ring to the right features a white opal, also surrounded by diamonds.

Black Opal and Diamond Ring

The world’s first black opal was found in an area of South Wales in Australia called Lightning Ridge in 1877 – we have already learnt about the history of opals in the previous blog post The enchanting landscape of the Opal.  Well, the world was overjoyed about this amazing find, as they had never seen anything like it!  In fact, opals had had a very bad reputation 50 odd years earlier, when Sir Walter Scott novel “Ann of Geierstein” associated the heroine’s unfortunate downfall with an opal.  Suddenly everyone believed that opals would bring bad luck, and so the opal trade suffered immensely for a long time – for no legitimate reason whatsoever!  This black opal was then fortunately brought to the attention of the world, and opals immediately sprung back into popularity – and Lightning Ridge remains the finest producer of black opals until this very day.

As you can see in the photo above, the body of the stone in a black opal is what gives the stone its name.  This darkness is caused by small trace elements of carbon and iron oxide, which you will not find in other opals (1).  The dark colour ranges from dark grey to pitch black, and the characteristic rainbow of colours that we have seen in “regular” opals will still be present in the stone.  Black opals are the most valuable ones because of the way the colour spectrum stands out so beautifully against this dark background.

You can also see above that the white opal to the right is cut with a cabochon (the shape of a dome) whereas the black opal has quite a flat top.  The reason for this is that the opal colour bar in the black stone is thinner than in the white one, and so it has to be cut thinner to retain its colour.

A white opal surrounded by diamonds

And do remember to wear your opal jewellery, as we have learnt that this lovely stone revels in the humidity of the skin and may break if left unworn for too long!

One of the rings in the first photo comes from the Richard Ogden-collection and the other one from Moira Jewels – and you can viewed them both at our favourite Richard Ogden shop in the Burlington Arcade

Sources:

(1) Opals Down Under

Striking Cat Inspiration

So I have quite a few posts coming up on beautiful gemstones and stunning high end jewellery from the antique shop where I am working these days, but today I wanted to mix things up a bit and do a different post, so I looked through my photos for inspiration, and this is what I found…

Such a beautiful Savannah F2 Cat 

This is my friend’s Savannah F2 cat and he is just such a beautiful young man.  Cats have inspired people when it comes to jewellery for so long and it has been estimated that the first cats were domesticated ca 10,000 years ago!  These cats were Middle Eastern subspecies of the Wildcat, and I am sure that the cats didn’t see it as them being domesticated, rather that they trained the humans to feed and love them.

You might remember this beautiful from the blog post Nicky Butler’s Ancient Egypt-inspired collection at the British Museum

The ancient Egyptians obviously adored their cats and since cats helped people to catch vermin and snakes – even the feared cobras – they became a symbol of grace and poise in ancient Egypt.  The goddess Bastet was worshipped and in the 18th dynasty she was pictured as a woman with a cat’s head, and in the 22nd dynasty she “emerged as the quintessential cat-goddess” (1).  Cats were the source of inspiration for artists and jewellers and wouldn’t you say that the Great Sphinx of Giza and all the beautiful cat sculptures and hieroglyphs come to mind when you think of ancient Egypt?

The exquisite design of their fur would inspire anyone to want to create something incredibly beautiful 

Either he is yawning or giving me a death threat

Just one piece of jewellery so clearly inspired by cats – Decades of Elegance leopard bracelet, vintage Cartier-style

So I don’t know about you my dear, but I am definitely inspired to wear some cat jewellery today!  Happy Friday to you and have a fabulous weekend!

Sources:

(1) Wikipedia – Bastet

Emerald birthstone for the May-beauties

 

Art Nouveau Emerald brooch on Portobello Market

The birthstone for May is the Emerald, all you lucky May-children!  It is one of my absolute favourite gemstones, with colours that span all kinds of glorious shades of green.  The emerald is thought to be a symbol of rebirth and it is also said to give its owner foresight, good fortune and youth. (1)  The largest and highest quality emeralds today are mined in Columbia, but they can also be found in Brazil, Afghanistan, Norway, Austria, Australia, Madagascar and Zambia, and a few more places around the world.

Antique emerald and diamond earrings from Portobello Market

The adoration of emeralds date go far back in time, as tools dating back to 1300 B.C, have been found in emerald mines in Egypt.  This was during the reign of Ramesses II, the third Egyptian pharaoh, who is often regarded as the greatest and most celebrated pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire. (2)  Given the beauty of the emerald, I wasn’t surprised to hear that a famous historical artefact was made of emeralds: the Crown of the Andes which was allegedly created by the last Inca king of Peru, Atahualpa.  I would love to see this crown, which is set with ca. 450 emeralds with a total weight of 1523 carats – if you are having a hard time picturing how much this is, imagine that a regular diamond ring is often around 1 carat, so 1523 times that! (3)

Emeralds were rather popular among the royals in both Babylon and Egypt, and in the latter royals were buried wearing these precious gemstones.  Queen Cleopatra’s emeralds are thought to have originated from mines in Southern Egypt, close to the Red Sea, and she loved them so much that she claimed the Egyptian emerald mines as her own (yup, if I had the power to do that I probably would have done it too!)

Antique Gold Leopard at Grays Antique Market in Mayfair

And over to my favourite part; the many myths surrounding the emerald.  The emerald has been thought to prevent epilepsy, stop bleeding, cure fever and protect the wearer from panic.  The ancient Romans dedicated emeralds to the goddess Venus, as the green gemstone symbolised the reproductive forces of nature.  In the Middle Ages people believed that emeralds held the power to tell the future.

Antique Emerald and Sapphire rings on Portobello Market

Emeralds are so beautiful that I can completely understand the temptation to choose an emerald for your engagement ring!  However, do keep in mind that they are relatively brittle stones and therefore easily damaged, so if you intend to wear your ring every day an emerald might be too soft a choice.  I would therefore recommend that you choose a diamond for your engagement ring, which can withstand the hardships of everyday wear and tear and go for a glorious emerald cocktail ring that you can wear on special occasions and keep safely tucked away in the meantime!

 Sources:

(1) American Gem Society

(2) Wikipeda – Ramesses II

(3) Earthsky.org

Russian Art Nouveau at Shapiro & Co

One of the first stands that I visited at the Chelsea Antiques Fair was Shapiro & Co – who usually resides at our favourite Grays Antique Market in Mayfair.  They showed me the most exquisite pieces of antique jewellery:

Shapiro & Co, Russian Gold, Amethyst and Green Garnet Pendant 1908 – 17, £3750

Shapiro & Co, Russian Gold, Amethyst and Green Garnet Pendant 1908 – 17, £3750

We have previously found out that the finest amethysts were historically found in Russia: February Amethyst Allure.  This pendant comes from Russia’s  and was made sometime in between 1908-17, during the exciting Art Nouveau (“New Art”) period.  In Russia designers took inspiration from folk tales and history during the Art Nouveau era, and Moscow and St. Petersburg were the two centres for this “Stil’ Modern”.  The appearance of St. Petersburg today was very much shaped by the Art Nouveau movement and you will find whole suburbs built in the distinctive style (1).

Antique Citrine Cocktail Ring, Shapiro & Co

We also adore large cocktail rings here on the blog, so this stunning citrine ring simply had to be featured in the blog.  Ladies, how would you wear it?  As you know we have a similar ring in the Decades of Elegance collection and one of our models wore it with a blouse and pencil skirt when we took this photo a couple of summers ago:

Styling ideas for a citrine cocktail ring: a dressy blouse and a pencil skirt – and those perfectly painted nails!

You can visit Shapiro & Co at Grays Antique Market where they specialise in jewellery, silver, objects d’art, British arts and crafts and imperial Russian works of art, including Faberge pieces.  Shapiro & Co Stand 380, Gray’s Antiques Market, 58 Davies Street, London, W1K 5LP.

Sources:

(1) Art Nouveau Around the World

A sparkling Christmas party at Grays Antique Centre II

In this last post before Christmas we are visiting DB Gems at Grays Antique Centre, where I was mesmerised by this late 19th century diamond tiara:

Late 18th Century tiara with rose cut diamonds at DBGems, Grays Antique Market

The centre stone is a Rose Cut Diamond, and this sounds so alluring that I just had to find out more:

The Rose Cut dates all the way back to the early 1500s (1) and was a very popular choice of diamond cut during the Georgian and Victorian eras (2).  However, as cutting technology developed the Brilliant Cut became the popular choice in diamonds, as it provided more sparkle in candle light and so the rose cut fell out of fashion for a while.  It did however regain popularity soon again and has remained a treasured choice in engagement rings until this very day.

A rose cut diamond as the centre stone

You might notice in the photo above that the centre diamond is raised above the others?  A rose cut stone is cut to resemble the spiralling petals of a rose, so it features a flat bottom and a dome-shaped crown.  It can have anything from 3 to 24 facets, which are the flat areas on the stone that allows it to reflect light and dazzle us!

Vintage cufflinks at DBGems, Grays Antique Market

I was also delighted to see the amazing collection of cufflinks at DB Gems, that will make the perfect Christmas presents for the gentleman in your life who has everything!

Antique diamond rings at DBGems, Grays Antique Market (please forgive the reflection in the photo!)

I also spent a looong time admiring their necklaces and diamond rings.  We can also glimpse some sapphires and rubies in the photo above, just in case anyone is after a wedding present for their loved one for example..?

Grays Antique Centre, 7 Davies Mews, London, W1K 5AB 

A huge thank you to Grays for having us over!  Hopefully you will get a chance to pop by there during Christmas as it really is a wonderland of beautiful jewellery and works of art.

Sources:

(1) Tracy Matthews

(2) Brilliant Earth