Jewellery Week 6

BELLE EPOQUE Lioness Ring Gold Opal H: 1.3 cm (0.51 in)  Marks: Eagle's head & indistinct maker's mark French, c.1900 Ring Case Literature: cf. The Belle Epoque of French Jewellery 1850-1910

 

I found this jewellery fascinating because of the stone that is placed in the middle. The stone is what I believe is the most captivating part of the whole ring itself. Once you get past the stone then you'll begin to notice the details of the animals surrounding the stone.

 This truly stunning three-quarter inch wide bracelet dates back to the early decades of the twentieth century - circa 1910-1920. The platinum bracelet centers on a glowing 2.75 carat round cabochon emerald that briefly interrupts a sparkling row of bright-white European-cut diamonds which, along with the two diamonds in the center section, total 4.00 carats.

 

I found this jewellery truly captivating because of the color of the stones as well and the fine details that surround the stone. 

 

Mary Queen of Scots’ Watch: Large SKULL WATCH given by the Queen to Mary Seton. The forehead of the skull is engraved with a figure of death between a palace and a cottage, and a quotation in Latin meaning ‘pale death visits with impartial foot the cottages of the poor and the castles of the rich’ (Horace). The skull is held upside down and the jaw lifted to read the silver dial. The hour is struck on a bell. Made by Moyant A Blois (1570-90). The escapement is unfortunately a CONVERSION to lever.
The skull is of silver gilt and is engraved with lines of Horace, figures of Death with his scythe and hourglass, Adam and Eve, and the Crucifixion. The lower part of the skull is pierced to emit the sound when it strikes, being cut in the form of emblems of the Crucifixion. The works occupy the brain’s position in the skull fitting into a silver bell which fills the entire hollow of the skulL The hours are struck on this bell by a small hammer on a separate train..
The case is opened by dropping the under jaw, which turns upon a hinge, while the watchworks occupy the place of the brain.

Likely one of the earliest examples of horological “Memento Mori” (artistic reminders of ones mortality).
The original engraved dial with 18th century modified to a balance-spring movement by J. Moysan of Blois, France.  via The Seaton Family

 

I found the information of the skull off of Tumblr ( http://indigenousdialogues.tumblr.com/post/13713082659/bloodmilk-mary-queen-of-scots-watch-large ). I found this skull fascinating because although its just plain steel it was still able to capture my eyes and have me take the time to look at it and focus on the details that the skulls withholds. In my opinion the skull seems to represent life in a way. When you think of skulls you think of death, people who have been gone for a long amount of time. When you think of flowers connected to vines you think of life and how precious each part is. Then when you read the information that I copy and pasted onto the blog you'll also read that the skull is actually a watch, which to me represents the time that you have meaning your biological clock. Life and Death the two important things that people seem to always take for granted while the time continues to move along. Time waits on no man and people seem to forget that because their too focused on taking life seriously instead of just living each day as if it was their last. I always give my opinions on pieces from other artists even if my opinion might be fully off from what the artist was trying to put out there to the people because everyone's different and so we all think differently.

Jewellery this term was an interesting and difficult task for me. Although it was fun to create things from scratch especially plastics to make our jewellery recyclable I can't quite find myself becoming a jeweler. I can't find myself becoming a jeweler because of the fact that I don't have much patience when it comes to being delicate with an object that you are working with. Drawing is completely different from jewellery because with drawing if you make a mistake you can almost always take it back but with jewellery if you make a mistake you most likely have to start from the beginning all over again. Jewellery is a fascinating thing to be apart of it's just that I'm not the type to have patience with it or the type to start all over on something that could have consumed a lot of time already. This term was a good experience being able to see how a jeweler works and what they have to deal with it really makes you appreciate whoever made the pieces of jewellery that you wear today.