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French Belle Epoque 18ct Gold, Platinum & Diamond Bracelet

797N
969 Admirers
Written by Olly Gerrish

A very pretty 18ct gold bracelet that was made circa 1900-1910. It is typical of the early 1900s style with a bow and garland design within a platinum top. It has been set with a mixture of transition cut diamonds and rose diamonds. It has fascinating French Bigorne marks on the clasp. Bigorne is a two-horned (or beaked) anvil with both a flat and a rounded striking area. From 1818 to 1984, the French instituted a system whereby they engraved their anvils with insects. In the case of the small anvil used to mark jewellery, they were incised in a zigzag pattern depicting rows of insects. This specially engraved bigorne anvil was then used in a system devised to countermark hallmarks. The piece to be hallmarked was placed in position on the anvil and, when the punch was hit with the hammer to create the hallmark, the reverse (or anvil side) was impressed with the specially engraved bigorne pattern. This system was devised as a security precaution against counterfeit or transposed hallmarks. These marks can be very difficult to discern because of the intricate nature of the insect renderings.
From 1838-1984, Insects were aligned and bordered by zigzag parallel lines. There were different patterns for Paris and for the Provinces. Paris shows the insects from the side. Provinces shows the insects from birds eye view.
In the case of this bracelet, this has three hallmarks for Paris. There is a secure tongue clasp with a clip over fitting.

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Item Number
797N
Measurements
Length 16.5cm
Width at widest point just over 1cm
Diamonds approx total weight 16 points
Rose diamonds approx total weight 50 points
Provenance
French
Hallmarks

18 (for 18ct gold) French Bigorne marks

Condition
Excellent
Discovered
4 years ago
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