Price Guide to Antiques & Collectables
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Piaget Bird Brooch with Sapphire, Diamond and Mother of Pearl

Sapphire, diamond, Mother of pearl and onyx brooch, Piaget, circa 1970, modelled as a bird perched on an onyx branch, its body set throughout with circular-cut sapphires, its tail set with circular-cut and baguette sapphires tipped by mother of pearl accents and its textured gold wing similarly embellished, the eye collet-set with a circular-cut diamond, mounted in 18ct gold, approximately 1.18 in. x 1.57 in., signed Piaget.

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  • Mother-Of-Pearl - Mother-of-pearl, technical name "nacre", is the inner layer of a sea shell. The iridescent colours and strength of this material were widely used in the nineteenth century as an inlay in jewellery, furniture, (especially papier mache furniture) and musical instruments.

    In the early 1900s it was used to make pearl buttons. Mother-of-pearl is a soft material that is easily cut or engraved.

    Nowadays it is a by-product of the oyster, freshwater pearl mussel and abalone industries.
  • Onyx - Onyx is a form of agate, used from antiquity and popular again in the 1920s and 30s. European onyx is generally green, but can be many other colours, and can contain bands of black and/or white.

    This multicoloured stone is widely used for table tops, lamp bases and in jewellery. Some types of onyx are also used for cameos of which the upper white layer is cut away to reveal the colour beneath.
  • Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.

This item has been included into following indexes:

Sapphire, diamond, mother of pearl and onyx brooch, Piaget,…