Kukui!

Victorian Red Gold Watch Chain With Gaved Kukui Nut, England Circa 1890

€ 1,290.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Unit price €1,290.00 / piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Victorian Red Gold Watch Chain With Gaved Kukui Nut, England Circa 1890

Description

This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!

The turn of the century must have been an elegant time, at least if you belonged to a more well-heeled social class. Ladies strolled about in large hats and sweeping dresses, and gentlemen always wore hats and suits of fine twine appropriate to the occasion. These suits, which were of course worn with a vest, were accompanied by an indispensable accessory: a pocket watch, which not only showed the time, but was also a precious object of representation. However, since the watch, worn in the vest pocket, is invisible to the opposite person, elaborate pocket watch chains quickly came into fashion, which reached from the buttonhole of the vest into the pocket and thus, with the sparkle of gold, could represent the wealth of their wearers and, as it were, the presence of an expensive watch to the outside world. Such a watch chain from Great Britain of the years around 1900 is presented here. The piece of jewelry consists of an armored chain of reddish gold, On both sides the chain ends in a carabiner. In the middle there is a toggle and an unusual pendant, which has purely decorative purposes as a berlocke. It is a so-called Prince Albert chain, named after the husband of Queen Victoria, who loved to wear such designed pocket watch chains. The pendant is a so-called kukui nut. The distribution area of this nut stretches from India through China and Southeast Asia to New Zealand. It is not surprising to see such a nut on a watch chain, as the English of the Victorian era loved to display the curious products of the colonies of the British Empire. The Kukui nut is engraved and shows a cross and a crown. Even today, the chain is a precious accessory for all owners of a pocket watch or can be worn by ladies as a necklace.

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Watch chains have almost completely fallen into oblivion with the triumph of the wristwatch. Originally, these often imaginatively designed chains connected the pocket watch with the clothing, in order to prevent the watch from falling to the floor if it accidentally slipped out - and at the same time to indicate the presence of an expensive watch, which was usually hidden from the other person. For the gentleman, the watch was in the vest pocket and the chain reached to a vest button. Elaborate pendants, so-called berlocken, adorned the watch chain, such as a petschaft with a seal, or various traditional costume pendants. The lady had more possibilities to wear her watch. Either she hung the watch around her neck on a long watch chain, as a pendant, so to speak. In the case of a particularly long chain with a slider, the watch was then slid into the hem of the dress, the wider belt, or into a pocket of the costume. Or the watch was attached to a brooch at the neckline, connected by a more or less long chain. Today, of course, the numerous wonderful preserved watch chains can still be used to wear a watch. Especially the long ladies' watch chains with sliders, however, can just as well carry other pendants, with a particularly beautiful play of movements due to their special length.

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Size & Details

Kukui!

€ 1,290.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Unit price €1,290.00 / piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

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 trader 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.

Should you for some reason not be satisfied, please don’t hesitate to contact us so that we can begin to find a solution together. In any case, you can return any article within 30 days and we will refund the full purchase price.

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