Syblle Jargstort says in her book “Baubles, Buttons and Beads” (Schiffer) that saphiret glass was created in the 19th century. The 2 tone effect – varying from brick red to sapphire blue – was made by mixing gold to a basic sapphire blue glass. She gives examples from Gablonz up to the 1930’s. It was expensive to make. Diane de Mango – illusionjewels.com – says that later stones – which she calls sapharine – were made in Germany. They are not as distinctive as the older ones. The examples in the picture are from my own collection and the dates vary – I particularly like the necklace. Saphiret stones are difficult to photograph – do look at other examples on the internet to become familiar with the difference in colour in the older and later stones.
Category: Glossary
GALALITH
Galalith is an early plastic – used mainly between the 1920-40s. It was invented – in the late 19th century by Spilleler and Krisch. It was not patented until 1906. It is a casein plastic made from sour milk combined with formaldehyde. It was also known as Erinoid, Karolith and Aladdinite. It could be moulded by heating and also cut. The Charles Horner Company – in the UK – had their own range of items made from Casein – which they marketed as Dorcasine and continued to use this material until the late 1970’s. Some wonderful jewellery was made from Galalith. Current jewellery makers like Marie Christine Pavone buy old pieces of galalith and rework it. I do try to stock some Pavone – I love her sense of humour! There is plenty of more detailed info on Galalith on Google.
CELLULOID
Celluloid is generally regarded as the first thermoplastic. It was first created in 1862 and registered as ‘celluloid’ in 1870. It was used to imitate ivory. It is still in use today for table tennis balls and guitar picks. It had many uses in the jewellery trade and in the home. It was used to make jewellery, hat pins, buttons, jewellery boxes, ring boxes, dolls, dressing table sets, brushes and combs etc. It is often called ivorine or French ivory. It is a fragile material and quite flammable. It can deteriorate over time. Pieces that show deterioration should not be put with other pieces. A good book about celluloid and its care is ‘Celluloid Collectibles’ by Shirley Dunn – published by Collector Books.
MARCASITE
Marcasite are small, greyish, stones that have a long history in jewellery making – going back to the Incas in South America. They usually have a faceted top and are flat on the back – although I have had them with pointed backs. To call them marcasite is actually incorrect. They are – iron sulfide with cubic crystal structure – usually referred to as iron pyrite. Marcasite – which is related – is too soft to use. It was very popular in Victoria times and was cheaper than diamonds. For a full description of the history of marcasite look on the Gemondo website – gemondo.com/t-marcasite_history.aspx it is very informative.
POUCHOIR
Pouchoir is a complicated process whereby an artist’s picture is broken down into separate areas, and stencils made of each area – and the necessary joining pieces. Craftsmen were then allocated a particular piece each to be painted. This ensured that each finished work looked approximately the same (although minute difference can be seen if you see more than one copy of a work.) It was used in the Art Deco period. For more information see Art Deco Prints by Giuliana Ercoli – Phaidon-Christie’s Limited. These pieces are sometimes mistaken for prints so it is good to look very carefully at Art Deco pictures – you might be lucky!
PEKING GLASS – Incorrect use of
Peking Glass is a term that has long been used in the costume jewellery trade to describe Czech. green glass stones that resemble jade. It is in fact not carved but pressed glass. The term is also used loosely to describe moulded green Czech. glass. In fact this is incorrect. Peking Glass is an elaborate procedure requiring a lot of skill! A good description can be found on Wikipedia. It originated in China in the 18th century. It is still being made in china today. I had been using the term for very many years until I realised it was quite incorrect and I no longer use it (although probably in my head it will still be Peking Glass!) You will see that the term is still used widely throughout the Internet – and people having been using it for so long – it will probably still continue to be used – but I wanted to clear up the confusion on my web site!
LUCITE
Lucite became very popular for costume jewellery in the 1940s and 1950s. It was cheaper to produce than Bakelite or galalith and could be dyed and polished. Lucite was first produced at the beginning of the 1930s and was used in WW2 in aeroplanes etc. as an alternative to glass. Dupont developed Lucite for jewellery around 1937. Trifari famously used it in his Jelly Bellies. Joseph H. Meyer Bros produced their version referred to as ‘Moonglow’. It could be made in a variety of shapes and colours and was popular until the 1970s. It was also made into bags, shoes and other accessories – and also into furniture. Most of the info in these notes are taken from the www.collectors weekly.com article ‘Vintage Lucite Jewelry’ – but there is plenty of other available info on Google.
CZECHOSLOVAKIAN/BOHEMIAN JEWELLERY
BAKELITE
CUT STEEL
Cut Steel was produced almost entirely during the end of the 18c and the beginning of the 19c. (see Cut-Steel and Berlin Iron Jewellery – Anne Clifford – Adams and Dart). It imitated the sparkle of diamonds – which was very fashionable at this time. Sheets of metal were cut into strips which were then covered with studs fixed with rivets (you can see the rivets from the reverse side of the article). The light bounced off the faceted studs. It was used to produce a wide variety of articles – including buttons and buckles for men. In the late 19c mass production of shoddy sheets of metal that were not riveted helped cut steel to go out of fashion.