A Closer Look at One of Our Treasures: Victorian Holbeinesque Emerald and Diamond Pendant, Circa 1870

There are pieces where you notice everything at once, and others that take a moment.

This Victorian Holbeinesque pendant is one of those pieces that takes your breath away and makes you think about it over and over again.

At first, it's the centre emerald that draws you in: a beautiful hexagonal step-cut natural emerald of approximately 3.60 carats displaying a strong, even green. But it doesn't take long before the rest of the piece starts to come through. Old mine-cut diamonds are set around it, bright and lively, just enough to highlight the detailed design.

The enamel work is where it really starts to open up. Deep reds, greens, and blues sit within the gold framework, repeating in small quatrefoil sections, like a pattern across the oval shape.

The top and bottom are finished in the same way, with a diamond set section leading into the bale, and a pear shaped emerald drop below that gives the pendant a sense of movement and continuity.

Made in England around 1870 in solid 18 carat yellow gold, it reflects the Holbeinesque style, not often encountered today, where colour and structure matter just as much as the stones.

It's the kind of piece that almost hypnotises you, the longer you look at it, the more you fall in love with it.