The Perfect Victorian Crystal Scent Bottle And Dauber With 14k Repoussé 0.13 Ctw Old Mine Cut Diamond & Spinel Shamrock Cap With A 65% Price Cut [FyQw0xeZ]

General Information:

• Total Carat Weight: 0.13 ctw
• Precious Metal Weight: The gold lid that tops the bottle cannot be removed, so its exact pennyweight cannot be specifically calculated. However, it is roughly estimated to be about 4 to 6 dwt, give or take.
• Precious Metal Material: This piece was sold to the shop as 14k, is stamped as 14k, and tests as 14k with a high karat bloomed finish (read more about this process in "The Story" below.
• Dimensions: This bottle measures 77.05 mm long overall, from the very top to the very bottom. The top of the gemstone-encrusted lid measures 22.75 mm in diameter, and the dauber measures 17.75 mm long.
• Weight: An extremely impressive 30.07 grams
• Markings: The exterior rear of the gold cap's neck is stamped with "14KT".
• Era: This construction, glass fabrication type, finishing details, gemstone faceting matrices, stylistic elements and motif, precious metal composition and finish technique all point to circa 1870, which is just before the last quarter of the Victorian era.
• Buyer Notes: This palm-sized masterpiece is a beautifully aesthetic, highly collectible object of virtue, boasting luxury at every angle. While a historically utilitarian component of a lady's vanity, it exists today as a relic of a more opulent era, saturated in symbolism and artistry alike. There are no exact comparables on the open market at the time of research and listing, making this piece a delicate rarity, with an assayed (verbal) valuation of about $2,150. This is not a formal, written appraisal but may be assistive to prospective buyers considering an investment.

Specifications:

• Center Stone Type: Diamond
• Center Stone Count: One (1)
• Center Stone Dimensions: 2.35 x 2.15 mm, measured as mounting permits
• Center Carat Weight: 0.05 ct, by historic formula per the dimensions and using the specific gravity of diamond
• Center Stone Shape: Old Mine Cut
• Center Stone Color: I
• Center Stone Clarity: VS2

• Center Stone Type: Red Spinel
• Center Stone Count: One (1)
• Center Stone Dimensions: 2.10 x 1.90 mm, measured as mounting permits
• Center Carat Weight: 0.04 ct, by historic formula per the dimensions and using the specific gravity of spinel
• Center Stone Shape: Antique Cushion to Old Mine Cut
• Center Stone Color: Vivid pinkish-red (visually identical to pigeon's blood red ruby), color attributed to chromium deposits
• Center Stone Clarity: Semi-translucent

• Center Stone Type: Blue Spinel
• Center Stone Count: One (1)
• Center Stone Dimensions: 2.15 x 1.95 mm, measured as mounting permits
• Center Carat Weight: 0.04 ct, by historic formula per the dimensions and using the specific gravity of spinel
• Center Stone Shape: Antique Cushion to Old Mine Cut
• Center Stone Color: Vivid Kashmir blue (visually identical to unheated southern Asian sapphires), color attributed to cobalt deposits
• Center Stone Clarity: Semi-translucent

The Story:

An exceptionally rare and deeply desirable collector's item, this one of a kind scent bottle hails from the second half of Queen Victoria's reign. It is designed in the "lie-down" fashion, an ergonomic attempt at a comfortable and convenient palm-sized accoutrement to a lady's vanity. Scents were seen as intimate necessities to civilized personal hygiene, as any number of controlled or uncontrolled circumstances compromised one's smell. Prior to the affordability, widespread distribution and common use of soaps, functional baubles were held, worn or carried to mask undesirable odors of oneself or one's surroundings. Furthermore, belief during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries ruled that disease was spread through foul air, so it was very common practice for gentlemen and women to carry fragranced accessories, such as this, to combat the threat of airborne illness.

Before bottles such as this became standard, vinaigrettes were the tool of choice. Vinaigrettes were handheld or oversized pendant-like decorative boxes made of fine and precious metals, often engraved, chased, enameled and bejeweled, which could open to reveal a compartment covered by a hinged latticed grate, which secured a small sponge cut to size and soaked with distilled and perfumed vinegar or scented oils. When experiencing disagreeable aromas, one simply held the vinaigrette under the nose until the more pleasing scent prevailed or the other aroma passed. By the early and mid Georgian period, most (though not all) vinaigrettes were replaced by miniature bottles, oftentimes hung from a chatelaine, causing the trend to become most popular amongst ladies. As the chatelaine fell out of fashion, the miniature perfume bottle maintained its fashionable hold, and eventually became exclusively associated with the opulence of the upper class.

History recalls that the French aristocracy associated with Kings Louis XIV's and Louis XV's courts were so ardently fond of the use of perfumes that their courts earned the epithet "La Cour Parfumée", translating from French as The Perfumed Court. Even the Last Queen of France, the famed Marie Antoinette, donned a fragrance developed exclusively for her by her perfumer and apothecary, the renowned Jean-Louis Fargeon. Monsieur Fargeon advertised his many specialties to include scents and perfumes, herbal and lavender brandies, scented and skin-restorative accessories such as gloves, floral concoctions, invigorating waters, facial and body makeup, rouge pomade and sticks and more. His special recipe for the Queen was inspired by the Petit Trianon, her treasured and private retreat tucked away within the gardens of Versailles. It is said that the Queen's perfume included lavish ingredients such as rose, petitgrain, orange blossom, bergamot, lavender, lemon, iris, violet, lily, galbanum, tuberose, sandalwood, vanilla, benzoin, narcissus, cedar, amber and musk.

With the popularization of handheld perfume bottles also came the emergence of the Etui, a lidded pocket-sized container designed to hold "les nécessaires", or necessities. Etuis are, themselves, revered works of art, oftentimes made of precious materials such as gold and silver, leathers or shagreen, with velvet or silken linings, and many were ornately decorative to their exterior. Etuis were a sign of wealth, and something of a precursor to the handbag. While some etui cases were sold as readymade kits, others were sold as pocket-containers and filled with whatever tools the purchaser so desired. Common inclusions were sewing needles, a thimble, bodkin and scissors, small keys, fobs and seals, a miniature knife, a writing instrument such as a pencil and ivory writing tablet, and of course, a small scent vial. While this jeweled bottle would not have originally been homed within an etui, it represents the etui's evolution within fashion history, as it is an even more embellished rendition designed to be beheld and adored outside of the confines of a case.

The golden top lid is superbly detailed, and is intended as a permanent fixture to the crystal glass vial. It shows some wiggle if pressed and/or turned with the finger, but largely remains firm and does not come off. The top's perimeter undulates with the texture of fine repoussé metalwork, which creates a billowing foliate design encircling an iconic mid to late Victorian motif: the tritonal shamrock. Fashioned with three gemstones of radiant color, the shamrock silhouette is hand-engraved with a trio of delicate bead prongs set at the outermost points of the leaves. An chevron-shaped engraving forms the shamrock's stem and geometrically grounds the design. From the topmost leaf beams a bright and sparkly Old Mine Cut diamond, while the left leaf holds a ruby-red spinel, and the right leaf holds a sapphire-blue spinel. Likely selected as somewhat more economical alternatives to untreated ruby and sapphire, these spinels certainly do not disappoint, and utterly exude color and life. 

The Victorians are a venerated people within storied jewelry history, as they are known for their creative interpretations of stylistic elements, attributing symbolism to every last detail. In sum, every article, every pattern, every motif, design and emblem could be woven together and 'read' to reveal the depths of their deliberate significance. This piece can be read in this way, and offers loads of meaning of its own: