Description
A wonderful rarity- a set of c1900-1910 aventurine and yellow gold Giuliano dress studs nestled in their original silk and velvet lined box, complete with gold embossed lettering for “C & A. GIULIANO 115, PICCADILLY LONDON”. The Giuliano brothers moved from their Piccadilly premises to Knightsbridge in 1912 so these are certainly pre-1912.
Along with Castellani, Giuliano is an Italian name highly sought after in the world of antique jewellery. Carlo Giuliano (their father) was the founder of the business, operating in London from c1860. In 1874/1875 Carlo moved to the prestigious 115 Piccadilly address, where rumour has it, although the premises was diminutive in size, it resembled a veritable treasure chest of important and impressive jewels. Royalty, artists and the elite quickly became his clients. When Carlo passed away in 1895, the company was passed to his sons, Carlo and Arthur. They retained the Piccadilly premises until 1912, when they moved to another affluent part of London, Knightsbridge. Shockingly, only 2 years later Arthur committed suicide and the shop closed, never to reopen. Their work, along with their father’s stirs interest with collectors and those in the know of antique jewellery.
This set of aventurine and yellow gold dress studs are in excellent order-with no chips or damage to the stones (thank goodness!). The aventurine is amazing-with glittery inclusions which add such depth and interest to the stones. There are 8 studs nestled in their original box. It looks as if the gold loop at the bottom of each stud was placed over a stamped mark, as on 3 or 4 of the studs, you can see parts of a stamped mark. I have attempted some photos to show what I mean. There are 4 clips, with 1 being solid gold and most likely the original, the other 3 are clearly replacements added over the years. It would not be difficult to replace those 3 with other antique gold clip. The box functions well and is in generally good condition-with one spot of damage on the outside-looks like a liquid drop mark. I have not been able to find any other like these during my extensive research for these beautiful things. They display beautifully, as the inside of the box is clean and bright, with the Giuliano lettering being pristine.
Needless-to-say, C& A Giuliano pieces rarely come to the open market and I am sure these will be picked up by a collector. Scarce and beautiful things from prestigious makers in the heart of London. I shall send carefully packaged by complimentary courier internationally and by Special Delivery within the UK. Thank you.
