Carved Coral, European Antique pendant, from around 1900.The Coral is handcarved, depicting two blooms, stems and leaf. The gemstone is a dark red, the most rare gemstone Coral colour. The French preferred this blood-red colour in Coral, as did the Italians and Spanish, whereas the English in the 1800s and early 1900s, in the European period of Coral’s greatest popularity, preferred the lighter colours of orange, orange-reds and pinks.
The pendant is totally handcrafted, Silver gold-gilt, of clean classical line, definitely northern European, possibly French; certainly the pendant has a very French classical form, though it lacks any of the funny little French stamps. Could easily be German; certainly there is one on the Christopher William site that is German and that has close similarities in the handcrafted techniques used.
Very fine hand-work: twenty segments of 1mm wide serrated Silver flat lengths, all individually shaped and curled and fitted and joined together in this classical pendant format, finished with dozens of meticulously applied granules.
The Carved Coral gemstone mount is itself a work of art involving another three operations with the serrated flat Silver wire, a surround of twist wire at the base and a prettily wired bezel. The rear of this old pendant is almost as impressive as its face.