Antique Vintage Victorian Sterling Silver Etruscan Grand Tour Onyx Earrings

  

Specializing in Fine Antique Vintage Jewelry & Collectibles. Antique Vintage Victorian Sterling Silver Etruscan Grand Tour Onyx Earrings! These prices come from GIA recognized Gem Guide , THE wholesale price guide for dealers.

These values do not dictate what a piece is worth. This is the price a piece would be worth if stripped down and melted to its bare materials. This beautiful pair of earrings were made during the Victorian Period! The Victorian Period is famous for it's very rare & elegant hard to find designs! Etruscan Revival Jewelry was known for the clean and elegant simplicity of ancient Greek and Roman design and detailed by granulation and scrolled wire work. Master Italian goldsmiths, such as Castellani, were famous for their work in this style. Other Etruscan Revival pieces, include cameos of carved lava, hardstone or shell, in yellow gold, which were detailed with scenes from classic mythology or jewelry created in micro-mosaic and pietra dura. Gods and goddesses, nymphs and warriors, were all prevalent as well as motifs consisting of grapes, vines, swags and garlands. The Grand Tour was the standard European vacation of the Georgian and Victorian eras. The opportunity it gave for studying culture, architecture and art made it a tradition, especially for the upper classes.

And what better souvenir of this long trip than pieces of native souvenir jewelry such as Italian cameos, mosaic and pietra dura pieces. Pieces often also had historical inspirations from the remnants of Pompeii to the pyramids of Egypt, cultural learning was a focal point of the grand tour, the process of remembrance spilled over into jewelry souvenirs. Onyx is a chalcedony quartz that is mined in Brazil, India, California and Uruguay. It has a fine texture and black color; however, some onyx also displays white bands or ribbons against a black or brown background and this variety is known as sardonyx. The name comes from the Greek word onyx which means nail of a finger or claw.

Legend says that one day while Venus was sleeping Eros/Cupid cut her fingernails and left the clippings scattered on the ground. Because no part of a heavenly body can die, the gods turned them into stone which later became known as onyx. These earrings are used, and as such contain tarnish and discoloration.

If desired this can be removed with a good cleaning and some polishing cream. These Etruscan style earrings each feature a hand cabochon cut and polished piece of Onyx. The Onyx is bezel set within the center of the earrings and is intended to be the focal point of the piece. The Onyx displays its usual jet black color and is in great condition. The earrings are made of solid Sterling Silver and are very heavy in silver value. They include traditional Victorian Era and Etruscan Revival designs including granulated bead accents, a domed motif and rope twist borders throughout the earrings. There was a light gold wash placed over the Sterling Silver in these earrings in order to achieve a gold hue.

The earrings measure just under 1 and 3/4" by 7/8" wide. The Onyx has a diameter of just over 1/4. The design includes Shepard's style hooks that include hinged latches for added security. Antique and Vintage jewelry is disappearing at alarming rates.

Unfortunately most of the jewelry from this time period has been lost or melted down over the years, please don't miss your chance to own this special piece of history! Sterling Silver, light Gold Wash. Sizable by Your Local Jeweler. Due to the age of some of these pieces some items will not be stamped. The National Stamping Act was not enacted until 1906, before 1906 jewelry was not legally required to have a karat mark.

This is one way to date items prior to the Art Nouveau time period. All of our jewelry is verified and guaranteed though an x-ray florescent-spectrometer test.

This test conducts and determines the exact alloy content within the metal without damaging the piece like scratch and acid testing. Please be aware if you take an item to be tested by a jeweler, jewelers use scratch testing and electronic testing. These methods are only accurate 50% of the time, these are cheap, ineffective, and damaging ways to test to gold purity of an item. The XRF requires specialized training in order to correctly read the results. Rest assured that what you are receiving is 100% accurate. Item(s) must be sent back in original condition. If you plan to take your item to a jeweler please visit one with a specialized field in estate jewelry.

Most jewelry stores work with new/modern designs and on rare occasion are asked about vintage items. Chain jewelers are NOT a reliable source to date a piece of jewelry unless they are specialized with estate items. Aumia sees more antique and vintage jewelry pieces in one day than the average jeweler sees in years.

Please take your time to find a qualified, and reputable antique dealer if you would like a second opinion. We do not undervalue items or mark them as gifts. We started out in the jewelry business knowing individuals who were in the smelting business. As we watched these smelters melting new, vintage, & antique 100+ year old jewelry for the metal value, we cringed!! We thought that there must be a way to save this special and once in a lifetime type of jewelry instead of melting these wonderful items.

We started to set up at trade shows and other events to sell to people. I'm glad we did, you can get just as much interaction with people over the internet as you can face to face.

We love all of our customers and love the quick messages anybody likes to send our way! We try to offer a variety of jewelry from Rings, Necklaces, Pendants, Brooch's, Gold & Silver.

We also offer Native American Jewelry, Art Deco Jewelry, Victorian Jewelry, Antique Chinese Jewelry and so much more! We try to post a mix of each variety every week. Because of our great loyal customers and new ones every day you are helping us provide our future and the large contributions we donate to our Rotary club to help eradicate polio and create women empowerment projects in Nepal. We both heavily believe in helping others and creating wonderful new opportunities internationally and domestically.

Aumia has provided us our future and love towards our passion. We cant see ourselves doing anything else. It is something new every day. We treat people with the utmost respect and customer service is our main priority. We hope we have given you some insight to who we are and our passion for this industry.

Check our page for more fun information! So much of this stunning vintage and antique jewelry is being melted, lost, or broken over time. It is a shame to see quality items destroyed. With us we are bringing them back to life with new homes.

Featuring quality pieces that will show off nicely and all unique. All of our jewelry is stunning examples of quality workmanship that can be cherished from home to home. We know that vintage jewelry may just bring back memories of cherished ones or from special moments. Memories are what last a lifetime and these pieces will help bring them back. So do not pass something up if it will make you remember and bring a smile to you and to others.

Any type of personal information is shredded and recycled properly to protect your identity. In 2013, our customers helped fund an annual Christmas party in Nepal for an orphanage that my non-profit sponsors. We would love to share!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. The item "Antique Vintage Victorian Sterling Silver Etruscan Grand Tour Onyx Earrings" is in sale since Monday, September 19, 2016. This item is in the category "Jewelry & Watches\Vintage & Antique Jewelry\Fine\Victorian, Edwardian 1837-1910\Earrings". The seller is "aumiagoldandsilverjewelry" and is located in Fort Collins, Colorado.

This item can be shipped worldwide.

• Metal: Sterling Silver
• Metal Purity: .925
• Main Stone: Onyx
• Metal #2: Gold Wash
• Style: Drop/Dangle