Symbol of Affection: A Jack Russell Terrier in Precious Stones

This enchanting brooch from the 1920s, straddling the Art Deco and Belle Époque styles, is a beautiful ode to either the hunting tradition or the deep affection for a beloved canine companion. It features a masterful reversed intaglio of a Jack Russell Terrier on rock crystal, backed with mother-of-pearl, and encircled by 24 rose cut diamonds and 24 carré cut rubies set in 18K yellow gold and white gold or platinum. The detailed intaglio work, characteristic of late Victorian craftsmanship, vividly brings the terrier to life, symbolizing either the thrill of the hunt or a heartfelt tribute to a cherished pet. This brooch encapsulates the early 20th-century's appreciation for nature, animals, and the bonds they represent.

Antique jewelry object group: brooch

Condition: very good condition
  -  (more info on our condition scale)

Country of origin: unknown

Style: Something between Art Deco and Belle Époque
- Art Deco is an eclectic artistic and design style which had its origins in Paris in the first decades of the 20th century. The style originated in the 1920s and continued to be employed until after World War II. The term "art deco" first saw wide use after an exhibition in 1966, referring to the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes that was the culmination of high-end style modern in Paris. Led by the best designers in the decorative arts such as fashion, and interior design, Art Deco affected all areas of design throughout the 1920s and 1930s, including architecture and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as painting, the graphic arts and film. At the time, this style was seen as elegant, glamorous, functional and modern.   -  See also: Art Deco.

And the Belle Époque (French for "Beautiful Era") was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring during the time of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, the "Belle Époque" was named in retrospect, when it began to be considered a "golden age" the major powers of Europe, new technologies improved lives and the commercial arts adapted Renaissance and eighteenth-century styles to modern forms. In the newly rich United States, emerging from the Panic of 1873, the comparable epoch was dubbed the Gilded Age. In the United Kingdom, this epoch overlaps the end of what is called the Victorian Era there and the period named the Edwardian Era. or more info on styles

Style specifics: This is something between Belle Époque and Art Deco.
The Belle Époque
(French for "Beautiful Era") was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century from the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) and lasted until World War I (1914-18).

Occurring during the time of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, the "Belle Époque" was named in retrospect, when it began to be considered a "golden age" the major powers of Europe, new technologies improved lives and the commercial arts adapted Renaissance and eighteenth-century styles to modern forms.

In the newly rich United States, emerging from the Panic of 1873, the comparable epoch was dubbed the Gilded Age. In the United Kingdom, this epoch overlaps the end of what is called the Victorian Era there and the period named the Edwardian Era.

In the Belle Époque cheap coal and cheap labour contributed to the cult of the orchid and made possible the perfection of fruits grown under glass, as the apparatus of state dinners extended to the upper classes; champagne was perfected during the Belle Époque. Exotic feathers and furs were more prominently featured in fashion than ever before, as haute couture was invented in Paris, the centre of the Belle Époque, where fashion began to move in a yearly cycle; in Paris restaurants such as Maxim's achieved a new splendour and cachet as places for the rich to parade, and the Opéra Garnier devoted enormous spaces to staircases as similar show places.

After mid-century, railways linked all the major cities of Europe to spa towns like Biarritz and Deauville; their carriages were rigorously divided into first-class and second-class, but the super-rich now began to commission private railway coaches, as exclusivity was a hallmark of opulent luxury. Bohemian lifestyles gained a different glamour, pursued in the cabarets of Montmartre.

Art Deco
Abstract motives and geometrical forms are quite typical for the Art Deco period. Art Deco moved away from the soft pastels and organic forms of its style predecessor, Art Nouveau, and embraced influences from many different styles and movements of the early 20th century, including Neoclassical, Constructivism, Cubism, Modernism, and Futurism. Its popularity peaked in Europe during the Roaring Twenties and continued strongly in the United States through the 1930s. Although many design movements have political or philosophical roots or intentions, Art Deco was purely decorative.

Period: ca. 1920
  -  (events & facts of this era, poetry of this era, fashion of this era)

Source of inspiration: Mother Nature

Theme: Jack Russel Terrier

Material: Two tones of precious metal, the main part being 18K yellow gold and the white parts are either white gold or platinum. (touchstone tested)
  -  (more info on precious metals)

Technique: Reversed intaglio (see the next explanation on English Crystal)

Extra information (01): Reverse intaglio crystal or English Crystal - A crystal cut in the form of a cabochon, shallow or domes, that is carved in intaglio on it flat back with a motif that is realistically painted in minute detail and is surrounded by a transparent ground. The deeper the carving, the more pronounced the three-dimensional trompe l'oeil effect, which is sometimes enhanced by a backing of thin layer of mother-of-pearl. The carved motif, for pieces mounted in a circular gold band as a tie pin, cuff links, button, or studs for men, was usually a racing horse, game bird or dog, and for pieces in a brooch or a locket for women, a floral design or a monogram; some examples depict an insect or a coaching scene.

Sometimes two crystals are mounted back-to-back to form a spherical pendant, preferably with the motifs not identical but complementarily depicting the front and back views of the same subject, e.g. the head of a dog. Some examples consist of two or even three superimposed hollow cabochons, each carved with a different motif, thus increasing the effect of perspective.

The technique was originated by Marius Pradier, of Belgium, c. 1860 (he made the only known-signed example). In England it was developed by Thomas Cook in the early 1860s and carried on by his pupil Thomas Bean and the latter's son Edmund and grandson Edgar (d. 1954).

After the popularity of the pieces in the late Victorian era, the high quality deteriorated by the 1920s, when examples were also being made in France and the United States (some modern pieces depicting motor cars and aeroplanes). The crystals have long been identified with the Hancocks firm. The crystals have sometimes been referred to by the misnomers 'Essex Crystal' or 'Wessex crystal', owing to the erroneous assumption that they were decorated c. 1860 by the enamel portrait painter William Essex (d. 1869).

Imitations have been made of carved and painted glass, and even of a glass cabochon above a printed paper design.

Extra information (02): Jack Russell Terrier - The Jack Russell Terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting in England. It is principally white-bodied and smooth, rough or broken-coated and can be any colour.

The small white fox-working terriers we know today were first bred by the Reverend John Russell, a parson and hunting enthusiast born in 1795, and they can trace their origin to the now extinct English white terrier. Difficulty in differentiating the dog from the creature it was pursuing brought about the need for a mostly white dog, and so in 1819 during his last year of university at Exeter College, Oxford, he purchased a small white and tan terrier female named Trump from a local milkman in the nearby small hamlet of Elsfield or Marston.

Trump epitomised his ideal fox terrier, which, at the time, was a term used for any terrier which was used to bolt foxes out of their burrows. Her colouring was described as "...white, with just a patch of dark tan over each eye and ear; whilst a similar dot, not larger than a penny piece, marks the root of the tail." Davies, a friend of Russell's, wrote: "Trump was such an animal as Russell had only seen in his dreams".

She was the basis for a breeding program to develop a terrier with high stamina for the hunt as well as the courage and formation to chase out foxes that had gone to ground. By the 1850s, these dogs were recognised as a distinct breed. From: Wikipedia)

Diamond(s): 24 rose cut diamonds . We do not have the weight of the diamonds which is normal in our trade when it comes to rose cuts.

- All diamonds we offer are screened by the IJGC - lab (www.ijgc-worldwide.com ) for whether they are natural or synthetic, and all diamonds in this jewel are 100% guaranteed to be natural.

Precious stones: 24 carre cut rubies . We did not check if the rubies are lab produced or not as this information has no influence on the value of this jewel. Natural rubies and lab produced rubies were both used in this era, rather more for their effect than for their intrinsic value.
And one reversed intaglio cut rock crystal backed with mother-of-pearl

Birthstones: Diamond is the birthstone (or month stone) for April and ruby for July.
  -  (more info on birthstones)

Hallmarks: No trace.
  -  (more info on hallmarks)

Dimensions: diameter 2,61 cm (1,03 inch) - See picture with a ruler in cm and inches

Weight: 11,20 gram (7,20 dwt)

Adin Reference Nº: 21007-0047

Copyright photography: Adin, fine antique jewellery

jewelry with dogs, jewelry with animals, yellow gold jewelry, jewelry with diamond, jewelry with rose cut diamonds, jewelry with ruby, latest acquisitions,
antique jewelry, estate jewelry, vintage jewelry or modern jewelry

Jewelry with birthstones (or month stones) for:
January - February - March - April - May - June - July
August - September - October - November or December.


Additional information:
jewelry glossary - wall of fame - visit us in Antwerp - subscribe to our mailinglist.


What is antique jewelry? - What is estate jewelry? - What is vintage jewelry?