Description
A button-shaped natural pearl sits at the centre of this pendant, ringed by two concentric borders of diamonds — old mine-cut and rose-cut, laid in rows that widen outward from the pearl. The double border is what dates the jewel: nineteenth-century Paris built its pendants this way, framing a single important stone in successive rings of smaller ones so that the eye is walked inward to the centre.
A second natural pearl sits above, on the bail, itself set with rose-cut diamonds. The bail detaches, so the pendant can be hung as it stands or reworked onto another chain — and the two pearls, one large and one small, hold the composition together vertically rather than leaving the diamond frame to do all the work.
Both pearls have been examined by the Swiss Gemmological Institute and reported as natural saltwater pearls, of a soft light cream colour. The larger measures 11.09 to 11.21 by 9.77 millimetres and weighs 8.842 carats, or 35.37 grains; the smaller measures approximately 4.40 to 4.65 by 3.80 millimetres. Report 141849, dated 9 October 2024. Natural saltwater pearls of this size reach the market rarely, and documentation of this kind is what separates them from cultured material.
The diamonds are hand-cut in the manner of the period. Old mine and rose cuts return light softly and unevenly, in broad warm flashes rather than the even fire of a modern brilliant — the quality that makes antique jewellery read differently under a lamp than anything cut today. The mount is 18K rose gold, confirmed by the French assay mark, and carries the maker’s mark of Alphonse Fouquet. The pendant measures approximately 45 by 25 millimetres and weighs approximately 11 grams.
