This silver bracelet is composed of two ascending rows of individual basket settings that are linked together, each holding a cushion-cut paste gemstone, a technique known as a collect setting. The puffy back of each setting tells us that it was made in the 19th Century, when this type of setting was very typical. The box clasp is cleverly hidden inside one of the links, making it barely noticeable when worn.
The term 'paste' is now generally used for a specific type of faceted glass gemstone that George Friedrich Strass developed in the 1720s. Glass material has been used in jewellery since glass was invented millennia ago, but Strass experimented with the lead content to create a recipe that created a brilliance that replicated diamonds.
Paste gemstones were faceted in the same way diamonds were, creating a very similar appearance when worn: in this bracelet, they are cut into the very fashionable cushion-cut.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Size: 19 cm long, between 18 and 12 mm wide.
Weight: 34.25 grams.
Age: 19th Century, circa 1850s.
Material: Hallmarked with a French boar head hallmark for 800/1000 silver, used in Paris between 1838 and 1962. It is also stamped with a maker's mark, which I was not able to identify.
Condition: In good antique condition with only minor wear, consistent with age.
Please note that the antique box is for display purposes only. This shop is based in the EU. Although antiques are exempt from taxes in most countries, buyers from outside the EU might be subject to import duties.