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Antique "Wishbone" Brooch with Natural Pearls in Gold, Great Britain, c. 1900


€ 790.00 *
Content 1 piece
Incl. VAT, Shipping
Antique "Wishbone" Brooch with Natural Pearls in Gold, Great Britain, c. 1900
Antique "Wishbone" Brooch with Natural Pearls in Gold, Great Britain, c. 1900
Description
This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!
In some English-speaking countries, there is a custom: during a festive meal—often on Thanksgiving or at Christmas—two people pull apart the turkey’s wishbone, which is fused together like a fork, until it breaks. Whoever gets the larger piece may make a wish; hence, the bone is called a wishbone or merrythought. The tradition dates back to the 17th century and soon made the wishbone a popular symbol of good luck—comparable to horseshoes or four-leaf clovers. In the Victorian era, the motif found its way into brooches, pendants, and rings as part of what was known as “novelty jewellery.” This piece also features such a wishbone—but in a luxurious form! The brooch is crafted from 15-karat yellow gold and set with six delicately shimmering natural pearls. Thus, the piece combines charming folk tradition with English goldsmithing craftsmanship and serves as a good-luck charm that may elegantly make wishes come true—without having to break it! We date the brooch c. 1900. For comparison, we’ve included a page from a 1904 catalog of B. & H. B. Kent, Diamond Merchants and Jewelers from Toronto. It can also be viewed viewed online, and it offered interested customers numerous variations on this theme. Take a moment to flip through the pages—it’s fascinating to see how many different yet similar interpretations of this design concept were available back then. We discovered this whimsical brooch in the south of England.
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Size & Details
Antique "Wishbone" Brooch with Natural Pearls in Gold, Great Britain, c. 1900
Make a Wish!
€ 790.00 *
Content 1 piece
Incl. VAT, Shipping
Our Promise
Our Promise
Our Promise

We want you to be 100% satisfied! For that reason, we examine, describe and photograph all of our jewellery with the utmost care.

You can rely on our years of experience in the trade and our expertise as a professional art historians for reviews of the antique jewellery. As a member of various trade organisations and the British Society of Jewellery Historians, we remain committed to the highest possible degree of accuracy. In our descriptions, we always also indicate any signs of age and defects and never hide them in our photos – this saves you from any unpleasant surprises when your package arrives.

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