Antique Victorian diamond and citrine bow brooch in silver and gold, modelled as a ribbon tied in a Sévigné bow with a citrine drop swinging beneath the knot.
The bow is among the oldest forms in European jewellery, worn at the bodice from the seventeenth century and known in the trade as a Sévigné. Victorian jewellers returned to it through the 1860s and 1870s, keeping the earlier silhouette while opening the backs of the settings so that light passes through the stones from behind. This brooch follows that pattern. Four ribbon loops radiate from a central knot, each lined with a row of graduated old cuts and edged on both sides by a scalloped frill of rose cuts, every one in its own cup. The knot is centred by an oval citrine in a plain polished gold collet, and a foliate cap beneath it carries the pear citrine in a rose cut frame.
Dimensions -
Brooch: 5.5 cm high by 5.0 cm wide
Weight: 25.4 grams
Specifications -
Period: Victorian, circa 1870
Metal: Silver set front on a gold back, with gold pin and fittings
Design: Sévigné bow with an articulated citrine drop
Settings: Cut down silver collets, open backed, with scalloped rose cut borders
Reverse: Chased and engraved gold galleries
Fitting: Hinged gold pin with a simple catch, the stem extending beyond the frame
Diamonds -
Cut: Old mine, old European and rose cuts
Colour: Warm white to light yellow
Total carat weight: Approximately 7.00 ct
Largest stones: The four ribbon centres, approximately 4.2 to 4.7 mm across
Setting: Silver cut down collets, open backed
Citrine, drop -
Cut: Pear
Colour: Golden yellow
Carat weight: 4.60 ct
Measurements: Approximately 14.6 x 8.5 mm
Setting: Open backed collet within a rose cut frame
Citrine, centre -
Cut: Oval
Colour: Deep orange
Carat weight: 1.50 ct
Measurements: Approximately 8.3 x 6.4 mm
Setting: Polished gold rub over collet
Condition :
Excellent antique condition. All stones present, with an even dark patina to the silver front. The gold reverse retains its chased and engraved detail. The drop hangs from a hinge so that it swings when the brooch is worn.
Stone weights and grades are careful estimates taken from the mounted piece and are not laboratory certified.
Antique Victorian diamond and citrine bow brooch in silver and gold, modelled as a ribbon tied in a Sévigné bow with a citrine drop swinging beneath the knot.
The bow is among the oldest forms in European jewellery, worn at the bodice from the seventeenth century and known in the trade as a Sévigné. Victorian jewellers returned to it through the 1860s and 1870s, keeping the earlier silhouette while opening the backs of the settings so that light passes through the stones from behind. This brooch follows that pattern. Four ribbon loops radiate from a central knot, each lined with a row of graduated old cuts and edged on both sides by a scalloped frill of rose cuts, every one in its own cup. The knot is centred by an oval citrine in a plain polished gold collet, and a foliate cap beneath it carries the pear citrine in a rose cut frame.
Dimensions -
Brooch: 5.5 cm high by 5.0 cm wide
Weight: 25.4 grams
Specifications -
Period: Victorian, circa 1870
Metal: Silver set front on a gold back, with gold pin and fittings
Design: Sévigné bow with an articulated citrine drop
Settings: Cut down silver collets, open backed, with scalloped rose cut borders
Reverse: Chased and engraved gold galleries
Fitting: Hinged gold pin with a simple catch, the stem extending beyond the frame
Diamonds -
Cut: Old mine, old European and rose cuts
Colour: Warm white to light yellow
Total carat weight: Approximately 7.00 ct
Largest stones: The four ribbon centres, approximately 4.2 to 4.7 mm across
Setting: Silver cut down collets, open backed
Citrine, drop -
Cut: Pear
Colour: Golden yellow
Carat weight: 4.60 ct
Measurements: Approximately 14.6 x 8.5 mm
Setting: Open backed collet within a rose cut frame
Citrine, centre -
Cut: Oval
Colour: Deep orange
Carat weight: 1.50 ct
Measurements: Approximately 8.3 x 6.4 mm
Setting: Polished gold rub over collet
Condition :
Excellent antique condition. All stones present, with an even dark patina to the silver front. The gold reverse retains its chased and engraved detail. The drop hangs from a hinge so that it swings when the brooch is worn.
Stone weights and grades are careful estimates taken from the mounted piece and are not laboratory certified.
