Field-ready notes on each major era of estate jewelry — what to say to a client, what to look for in a piece, and what differentiates the period.
Each era guide is a one-page reference. Use them at the case, in client emails, or as background reading before a trunk show.
Hand-cut diamonds in foil-backed closed settings. Heavy use of natural pearls, garnets, and topaz. Pieces are scarce and almost always one-of-a-kind. Tell the client they're holding something nearly three centuries old.
Three sub-periods: Romantic, Grand, and Aesthetic. Mourning jewelry, hairwork, snake motifs, lockets. Old mine and rose-cut diamonds. The era's enormous range means a Victorian piece can read anywhere from somber to playful.
Platinum becomes possible to work with at scale. Lace-like millegrain, knife-edge wire, garland motifs. Diamonds and natural pearls are the dominant stones. Reads as the most refined and feminine of the major estate eras.
Geometric, architectural, two-tone metals, bold contrasting stones. Jadeite, onyx, coral, lapis paired with diamonds and platinum. Cartier, Van Cleef, and Boucheron set the visual vocabulary. This is the period most contemporary clients recognize and ask for by name.
Wartime austerity meets Hollywood glamour. Heavy yellow and rose gold, large semi-precious stones, sculptural cocktail pieces. Tank designs, scrolls, and bows. Reads warmer and more theatrical than Deco.
The era of the great signed houses at full power. Cartier, Van Cleef, Webb, Bulgari, Verdura, JAR. Bold, colorful, and increasingly Continental in style. Most signed pieces in MDJ's catalog come from this era.
Filter by era from the catalog overview. Pieces with full provenance documentation are flagged in the listing.
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