An extraordinary and very special antique rolled gold glass picture locket along with the original handmade belcher chain.
This is one of the largest of these types of glass picture lockets that we have had the pleasure in offering. It has a screw off bale at the top and a lovely twisted gold ribbon accent around the edge. The glass is convex so its gently curved outward on both sides.
The locket contains 2 early colourised photos of pretty little Edwardian girls, likely close relatives since they look a lot alike. The girls are very well dressed in beautiful clothes and their cheeks, lips, ribbons and coral necklaces have been shaded in pink and red, a charming touch which makes the photos stand out even more. There are hand written notations on the back of the photos which likely relate to the girls names, ages and date taken. We think the "a & g Taylor" are the girls, they are "7" and "7-1/2" years of age and the "a 23 04" means the photos were taken on August 23rd 1904. The 'me' written is likely the writer and might indicate these particular photos were for her.
The rolled gold belcher chain is original to the locket, it has hand made round links that are diamond cut creating a decorative pattern on the links. Antique rolled gold (gold filled) is a layer of solid gold mechanically bonded onto a base metal, often silver it is much thicker than gold plating and will withstand plenty of wear without loss to the gold layer unlike electroplated gold which is basically a gold wash.
A fabulous one of a kind all original antique necklace which can't fail to be adored! It is in excellent condition with signs of age and normal wear that you would expect in an antique piece. The photos remarkably clear, the glass is flaw free, the rolled gold layer is pretty much intact throughout, a little aged tarnish seen under magnification.
Some areas like the bale at the top and the chain are reddish gold with the locket frame a yellow gold. This is often seen in both solid and rolled gold of the era, antique gold tended to be reddish (rose gold) and it was often electroplated in yellow gold because that was the preferred colour at that time. Once the yellow gold wash wears off it reveals the red gold underneath.
MATERIALS: 9ct rolled gold, locket & chain
MEASUREMENTS: locket 2" (5cm) high, 1-1/2" (4cm) wide, chain 18" (45.5cm)
DATE: circa 1905, Edwardian
WEIGHT: Total weight 13.5 grams
MARKS: None
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- FREE DELIVERY on all orders worldwide. All orders are despatched next business day and sent with full tracking.
- RETURNS, you can return your item for a refund for any reason. Just get in touch within 3 days of receiving your order if you wish to do so.
- Unless otherwise stated any antique boxes in our photos are for display only and are not included in purchase. However, do rest assured all items will arrive gift wrapped in a custom Mercy Madge jewellery presentation box.
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