If you love Antique jewelery (Jewelry that is at least 100 years old) You may have been lucky enough to come across a quintessential piece of Victorian jewelery known as Micro Mosaic jewelery. (see figure 1 ) Pieces such as this lovely locket were all the rage, especially for those that traveled abroad. Italian artisans created these mosaics and they were purchased by tourists as souvenirs of their tours. The images were created using small pieces of cut glass known as tesserae. The tiny sections of glass were painstakingly assembled to create beautiful images. Jewelers would than set these small mosaics into jewelery.
Earlier examples of mosaic jewelry often depict images of Roman ruins and architectural motifs. Later 19th Centuary mosaics tend toward more romatic images such as flowers.
The quality of workmanship in creating the mosaics as well as setting them in jewelry varies. Artist such Castellani were masters of this type of work. His creations were sought after in his day. Today a signed Castellani piece can fetch a handsome price. Compare the Mosaic work on figures 1 and 2 to that of number 3.
Notice how much smaller the tesserae is cut in figures 1 and 2. Although the locket ( figure 3 ) is lovely, it is not nearly as fine as in the previous examples.
Fine quality Micro Mosaic work in is not commonly found. It is always such a pleasure to find quality pieces in really good condition, especially when you think that this work was created by artists well over one hundred years ago. For those of you that are addicted to collecting, Micro Mosaic jewelry is not only beautiful but wearable art and it speaks so eloquently of a gentler time. Happy Collecting to you!
All three items pictured above are available at Beauchamp Jewelers along with many other pieces of antique jewelry from the Victorian Period, and other Eras as well.
