Description
A tremendously attractive hand-crafted English Arts and Crafts clip dating from the c1900 era and most likely designed by one of the Guilds, possibly the Artificers’ Guild. It features an array of glittering and captivating foiled back opals, ranging from white to clear and flashing various colours but predominantly showing an overall orange effect. So beautiful!
It is actually a fairly large piece so would make a statement pendant. You can just clip it over any chain you wish to use and it hangs well. (Please see images where I have used one of my own chains). The design is a kind of flower and stem effect using a range of different opals. The central orange translucent opal is round and appears to be a jelly opal. Around it, are set 8 oval opals, all different in size and colours. One flashes a rainbow effect, another has such an interesting inclusion and they all have flashes of different colours when you look closely and move them around. The largest oval opal, near the bottom stone, is so very lively, with lots of purple and green flashes in the orange. It has a vertical (natural) fissure reaching the surface and this is not damage but rather a natural feature of the opal. The final stone has a whiteish area which has lots of glittery purple and green flashes in it. Honestly I could sit with the loupe for hours marvelling at these stones.
There are scroll motifs and tiny gold balls arranged at intervals, either separately or in groupings of 3. I did wonder if it could have been an early piece by Sibyl but the touches with the balls remind me so much more of the Artificers’ Guild. It is certainly a delightful thing. It measures approx 6.8cm in height by approx 4.5cm wide. A beautiful piece which functions as either a clip or a pendant. In pleasing condition.
I shall send in a new gift box as the boxes in the images are for display only. Complimentary international courier or else Special Delivery within the UK is included. Thank you.
