Vintage Jewellery

Jade is usually divided into two types, nephrite jade and jadeite jade. The latter is heavier and slightly harder, making it more difficult to scratch. The weight of this piece suggests that we do have jadeite here. The stone was selected for carving on the basis of its attractive appearance and the finish, which bears no trace of machine tooled manufacture, suggests a pre twentieth century dating, but certainty in these matters is notoriously difficult

The size of this piece is unusually large, suggesting that it would have been intended for a male wearer. This too suggests an earlier rather than later time of manufacture. The stone is exceptionally pleasant to the hand and would have been an elegant accompaniment to any wardrobe.

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PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS FREE UK SHIPPING ON THIS ITEM. For international buyers the shipping cost will be reduced by the UK shipping cost, so don't worry if you are outside the UK, you still receive this benefit!

Hobe was founded in 1887 by the French goldsmith Jacques Hobe as makers of fine jewellery. The costume jewellery division, Hobe Cie, was added 40 years later by his son, William Hobe, who brought the firm to America in 1927 and was commissioned by Flo Ziegfeld to design and manufacture jewellery for his Ziegfeld Follies costumes. By repute this is the origin of the expression costume jewellery. Production continued from the 1930s to the 1990s and the form of mark here suggests a more later dating within their range.

The sparkling stones and high quality mounting (there is a considerable weight of silver in this piece) would have made this buckle a notable addition to the Victorian ladies' wardrobe and it could equally well catch the eye today.

Inverurie is a town in Scotland where Pictish carved stones are found in the graveyard dating from the 7th Century. The Picts were a tribe of peoples living in the East and North of Scotland. Little is known of their origins but they were called 'Picts' by the Romans because of their painted and tattooed bodies. The Inverurie horse is the inspiration for this brooch. The actual design of the three horses was created by George Bain (1881-1968) the Scottish artist and teacher, famous for chronicling Celtic Art.

St Justin of Cornwall is well known for the production of 'craft' pieces in a variety of forms and materials. This piece probably dates to the 1980s and certainly cannot be found in their current catalogue.

MARIUS HAMMER BIO:

Marius Hammer built up and managed Norway's largest goldsmith's workshop in the decades around 1900. By investing heavily in marketing and international launch, he helped make Norwegian enamelwork an important export item. In a golden age for Norwegian handicrafts, Hammer's company also delivered many works that are among the main works of Norwegian goldsmithing.

Hammer was a third-generation goldsmith in the traditional craft town of Bergen. In his father's workshop, he received training in an ancient guild craft, but his ambitions were greater than running a small workshop, as his father and grandfather had done. During his studies in Hamburg and Berlin around 1870, he gained insight into new techniques and production methods, and from 1871 he built up his workshop to become the largest in Bergen in a few years. He had modern aids such as gas and electricity installed early on.

The workshop made all types of goldsmith's wares: centerpieces, jugs, coffee sets, cutlery, jewelry and much more. However, from the 1880s, Hammer focused on the tourist market and became a major producer of souvenirs and other luxury items in filigree and enamel. He built up a network of branches in the well-known tourist destinations in Western Norway, and he also supplied large quantities of goods to businesses abroad, including London. From 1885, Hammer's company was court supplier to the Prince of Wales, and somewhat later the German Emperor Wilhelm II became an avid customer. The main product was filigree work with window enamel – glass mosaics in all the colors of the rainbow built up on a fragile network of thin, gilded threads. Small and large Viking ships in various price ranges for tourists, boots, teaspoons, jewelry and much more were produced in a wide variety and in large quantities. Around 1914, the company reached its peak with about 130 employees.

The key to Hammer's success in the tourist market was very active marketing, including through participation in the major world exhibitions. Together with the Kristiania firms Tostrup and David-Andersen, Hammer made enamelware one of the most important Norwegian exports.

In addition to souvenir production, Hammer also had an important production of corpus works, i.e. objects such as bowls, jugs and mugs. He invested heavily in prestige works for exhibition purposes and for the upper bourgeoisie, and a number of essays and other large corpus works are of greater artistic interest than souvenir production. Hammer engaged outstanding designers, and over the prosperous years from about 1900 to about 1920 the firm produced works that are now considered masterpieces in the goldsmith's art of the period.

Marius Hammer became Bergen's richest craftsman; he lived at the elegant country estate Christinegård in Sandviken and had himself driven in a two-horse carriage to his shop in Strandgaten. He built up a large collection of antiques and also traded in these in his shop.

With the outbreak of World War I, the tourists disappeared, and after the war, times became tougher for the luxury production that Hammer had focused on. The company was converted into a limited liability company in 1915, with his eldest son Torolf as director. However, he died in 1920, and from then on the company went into decline. Neither the old Marius Hammer nor his youngest son Max, who took over as manager, were able to carry out the radical restructuring that was necessary to adapt to the changing times. Shortly after Marius Hammer died in 1927, the company's properties and most of the machinery were sold, and the remnants of the company went into bankruptcy in 1930. (REF: https://nbl.snl.no/Marius_Hammer)