New York-based antique jewelry dealer Dana Kiyomura of Keyamour discusses the meaning and styles of the inspiring era's adornments.

Jewelry Connoisseur Podcast – Episode 4 – Season 2

Welcome to the Jewelry Connoisseur podcast. And now your host, Sonia Esther Soltani.

Welcome to the Jewelry Connoisseur podcast. It’s the podcast for people in the jewelry industry that want to learn more and it's also for jewelry lovers, who just want to expand their knowledge. Here we talk about everything that has to do with vintage and antique jewelry. I am your host, Sonia Esther Soltani, the editor in Chief of Rapaport. I edit a monthly magazine for the trade that covers everything from mining to retail. I'm also editing an online publication called Jewelry Connoisseur, like this podcast, where you can learn about estate jewelry, contemporary design, colored gemstones and diamonds, and I'm curating an Instagram account, Rapaport Jewelry Pro, that is covering the same topics. I hope we can educate as many as possible listeners that are enthusiastic about jewelry.

I personally love to learn about jewelry. I love to have exciting guests who tell me more. And I hope that by the end of this new episode, you’ll also feel you've discovered something new about the fascinating world of jewels.

My guest is Dana Kiyomura. Dana is a director of Keyamour, in New York that she founded a few years ago, after having worked at Christie's and Fred Leighton, where she learned about the wide range of top quality antique and estate jewelry on the market. Her focus is on sentimental and collectible pieces. She likes to find antique jewelry that has a bit of a twist, and she's particularly interested in Georgian jewelry, as she will tell us today. Georgian jewelry has been in the spotlight with Bridgerton, the series on Netflix. It appeals to an audience that like sentimental jewelry, and Dana is going to tell us how to find authentic pieces and how to make the difference between this period and the next big one in the jewelry history which is the Victorian era.

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Sonia: Hi Dana, joining us from New York, how are you?

Dana: I'm good, thank you. How are you? Thank you for having me.

Sonia: My pleasure. I am going to discuss something very romantic today, something trending Georgian jewelry. People know it. People talk about it, especially since Netflix series has been out. So tell us, why is it so popular right now?

Dana: I think that you're correct. There are a lot of dramas that are being built around the Georgian era, which preceeds the Edwardian era, which is very popular with Downtown Abbey. Now we have Bridgerton, which is a very popular series that depicts a very romantic period in time that was highly romanticized by authors like Jane Austen, who is a contemporary, who wrote at the time. So the fashions have come into style, and it's put a spotlight on the accessories that were worn with those types of fashion. And I think it is resonating with modern jewelry buyers today where they're learning about something new and they're liking what they see.

Sonia: And how about you? How did you come across Georgian jewelry when you started in this business?

Dana: So, I wasn't as versed in Georgian jewelry prior to my job working at a big store called Fred Leighton. I was the buyer there for several years, and they really made a very big effort to educate and sell beautiful 18th century jewels as well as 19th century jewels. I learned on the spot there, I saw the most spectacular pieces, and it was just something I learned about because it was so beautiful, in particular Georgian jewelry is very symbolic, and I think probably the first thing that I learned about was something called a poison ring with enamel that looked just like a jewel and might have a little pocket that opened up, a little case that opened up and perhaps poison was in there. And so somebody might pour a glass of wine and then tip what was in the contents of their ring into the glass of wine to create an assassination. And I thought the story was so fascinating that I wanted to investigate more types of jewelry like this. And, you know, lovers eye rings which might have the eye painted of somebody's lover in their ring was fascinating and memorial jewelry was fascinating. So it just got me on a trend to read about it more and try to understand it and find more pieces like it.

Sonia: That is really interesting. I love the story of the poison ring. We're talking about romanticism, a bit of dangerous relations. I think what were specific about this period, is that there are a lot of pieces on the market which are not authentic. There's being either upcycled or the setting or the stones. So what is special when you see and authentic piece of jewelry, how do you recognize it and what are the characteristic features that make you say it's authentic from that time?

Dana: You know, it's very difficult nowadays because as you say, some things have been upcycled. So clever reproductions are made with pieces that were original but perhaps reset or perhaps redone to create the pieces it might have been before. So it's it's very hard to tell. Generally, the shortcut to define between Georgian and Victorian is whether there's a closed back or an open back to the setting. So, you know, it is very you can look very carefully at how the foiling was done. You have to look for perhaps even jeweler's marks because of course, nothing was made by machine at the time. Everything was made by hand. So you might look for where of the jeweler's mark. You might look at the authenticity of the painting, perhaps if it was a miniature or something that was painted on ivory as opposed to something that wouldn't have been existing at that time. Even professionals can be fooled. But there are telltale's that if you have a very careful eye and look for certain things, you can discern whether it is truly authentic or not. But often times you must trust perhaps the person that you're making a purchase from also to rely on their expertize. Because nobody is perfect.

Sonia: Of course. And actually is like the reign of George 3rd in England and doesn't stretch for such a long time. So actually also the period is quite short to identify pieces from this two decades.

Sonia: You mentioned enamel for the poison ring earlier. In this time of prosperity, what kind of materials were used? And I guess diamonds were all over the show if you were a part of royal cycles and, the aristocracy.

Sonia: There marks the authenticity of it as well, the kind of come from all the the wears and tears from all these years.

Dana: Yes.

Sonia: And you mentioned the foliate motif. I think you know it was a time foliate motifs were very much in fashion and there was the same in France around the same time after, you know, the Pompidou and the Du Barry and Marie Antoinette, they love their floral motifs. Are there other motifs from that time that specifically characterized Georgian jewelry?

Dana: Yes, of course, there is an overlap with Victorian, but Georgian jewels had a lot of feathers. The stomacher was sort of a large brooch type of thing that would be worn sort of around the waist. And it was usually very, very full, yet very flowery. So those ideas with bows and things with loops were all used in the stomacher or even for earrings. You'd often see bows hanging, what they call a pendulum, a long elongated, oval shaped earring, or a girandole, which refers to three things hanging from a central motif. So things were definitely designed with movement design, with loops, bows, as I said, feathers, even insects, often very prevalent in Georgian jewelry.

Sonia: And you mentioned the overlap between Georgian and Victorian. For a lot of people starting their collection or starting just to get initiated in jewelry, the the mourning jewelry, the floral jewelry, the sentimental jewelry you associated maybe with Victorian jewelry?

Dana: Yes, for sure. Yes.

Sonia: And are there typical examples that you could give us that would help someone starting to be a jewelry expert to make the difference between the two periods?

Dana: so when Queen Victoria's reign started, she was very young and she of course was beautiful and just newly married. And it was a very exciting time in history. But she also was very enthusiastic about jewelry. For instance, Prince Albert gave her a snake ring as her engagement ring. So the snake motif really exploded during her reign. Of course, a lot of the jewelry still contained sentimental and love motifs during her reign, but I think that's just an extension of what was already there in Georgian jewelry. Georgian jewelry they had a lot more hidden meanings the acrostic rings were very much a Georgian thing, meaning that stones would be set to spell out a name or a feeling oftentimes REGARD or DEAREST. This is what I mean by hidden meanings. Georgian jewels were always kind of infused with something that appears to be one thing but could be another. I think in the Victorian times it became just a little bit more commercial, a little bit more easier to find, and maybe less precious.

Sonia: That is very interesting. What do you see when you source the Georgian jewelry? What are you looking for? Obviously the authenticity, the materials... Is it difficult to source that type of jewelry right now?

Dana: I think it is. It is hard to find the original not tampered with piece. And I think that you have to be very careful about the items that you're looking at. At the same time, as I say, it's difficult. I find things and I think, oh, my goodness, I've never seen anything like this. It's a great example of something I've only seen in a book, and it still comes around. You still see it. You're looking very carefully at the cuts of the stones, at the way it was set, at the materials it was made with, to make sure that you're correct in your assessment of the time period it came from. These pieces haven't been destroyed yet. And it's always a joy to find something new you've never seen before.

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The Jewelry Connoisseur Podcast will be back after this break.

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Sonia: Do you have any pieces at the moment in your collection that are typical of this period?

Dana: For me, the bucket list items is a fantastic girandole diamond earring. I have seen several on the market that are spectacular and I have a smaller version of something that's not quite my bucket list, but very close to it. It's a really beautiful 18th century pendant earring with the girandole and a little bit of emeralds at the bottom. So I find that to be one of my more coveted pieces. I just recently sold a really nice acrostic ring that was REGARDS, it had really bright rubies and bright diamond in the ring that I was very proud of. And I had also recently sold a beautiful feather set with rose cut diamonds in silver and gold. Very large size. It could have been worn in the hair. Could be worn on your lapel. It was really a beautiful, tactile piece to hold. And it was lovely. I have many pieces that I covet, but oftentimes they find homes very quickly.

Sonia: Which is great. And I don't know if you're allowed to disclose the information, but who are the collectors, your collectors of Georgian jewelry. Can we, do they have a specific profile? Do you see a pattern?

Dana: You know, I don't think so. I think that there's young ladies that I sell to who will buy lots of different jewelry, but they're drawn to the length of earrings that Georgian jewelry often have, or the sentimental meaning that Georgian jewelry often has. So I think the most visible collector of Georgian jewelry is Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue. She always is known for her signature colored stone riviere necklaces that she wears. And they happened to be original from the Georgian period. They are all closed back with foils. She has stones such as aquamarine, garnet, topaz, amethyst, pink topaz. She has all the colors that she stacks and wears almost daily. And she's created a mini trend, actually, not probably a huge trend where a lot many ladies try to replicate that look.

Sonia: And it's not pasted I guess with her, right? Is the real deal.

Dana: She might have some paste. You know, the colors were important at the time when it was made. It wasn't so much about the gemstone necessarily. It was about the color or the shape of the stone. And it's not the good paste Georgian necklaces can command the same types of prices that a real stone one would. You know, you just never know it. They're all beautiful.

Sonia: Did they have this tradition as well already in the Georgian times, that you see in Victorian times, that people had a replica of their jewelry so they would have one in paste and the real thing, or maybe not the real thing. Is that something that already started back then?

Sonia: And for people who want to learn more about about Georgian jewelry. I think it's fair to say it's not watching Bridgerton. I think Bridgerton is great, maybe for the storylines, the romance and all the drama. But I think a lot of people have pointed out that's not exactly accurate in terms of, you know, maybe the jewelry they were wearing. The costume directors have taken some liberties. Where should you go instead of watching Netflix? If you want to learn about Georgian jewelry, what would you recommend?

Dana: There is a wonderful book called Georgian Jewelry, written by a woman named Olivia Collings and Ginny Redington Dawes that to me is the Holy Grail book. It has this signature photo that I would love to replicate of many colored stone rivieres on the front. They speak and have pictures of of wonderful examples of Georgian jewelry. If you're so lucky to be in London and can visit the Victoria and Albert Museum, I think they're one of the Holy Grail locations of wonderful Georgian pieces. I really enjoyed watching Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst. They had beautiful, real jewels. She wore beautiful jewels during the filming of that. Keira Knightley, the Duchess was also, I think, a very accurate costume portrayal of the time period. So I'd recommend all those places for inspiration and to learn. And of course, the Internet has a wealth of knowledge and photos and examples of Georgian pieces.

Sonia: And do you have one piece that you feel is extremely covetable?

Dana: I believe two and a half years ago Sotheby's sold a very important royal collection of jewels that included a ring of Marie Antoinette. And it was a close back ring with enamel and her initials M.A. and a beautiful cursive font set with rose cut diamonds. And it was just a tiny jewel, but so beautifully done and beautifully rendered. And of course, the history of it carries it much further in my heart. So I would think that if I could have bought it, I would have. But it wasn't to be at that time. But I always think of that ring as the pinnacle, because it has the royal provenance and it has the enamel that was popular, it has the rose cut, it has the name, and it was all in one beautiful package.

Sonia: And I think it's important to say that Georgian jewelry, we have always associated with Britain, but it was across the continent at the same time, you know, obviously France and the type of films that were going on were kind of European maybe and not just limited to England.

Dana: Yes, for sure. Georgian, as you say, refers to the English kings. But it is a time frame that in history and in the jewelry history we refer to, anything from that time frame is Georgian. But you're right, it spanned the continent. It spanned France and Prussia at the time, even Portuguese jewelry, chrysoberyl was used quite a bit in their jewelry making. All of the major European countries had their own version of very similarly designed jewelry.

Sonia: And there's something we always says, as well, on this podcast and everyone is like, you know, if you are looking for a specific piece, it's always better to go to an expert just to be sure that's authentic, that you get the full story. I think that's very important to note, if you're not sure about something to have someone like you, Dana dealers to have experience in authentication and provenance.

Dana: Yes, it is always best to seek out expert advice if you have any questions. And I know personally and through many of my colleagues, everyone is very happy to impart their own advice and be helpful to any new collector or veteran collector in assistance. It's a joy to find people who share similar passions.

Sonia: Absolutely and I am very happy that you shared your passion with us today. Thank you so much, Dana. That was really such a lovely overview of Georgian jewelry. You know, I will encourage people to check your website, your social media as well, to learn more about not just Georgian jewelry, but the right range of jewelry that you are covering at Keyamour.

Dana: Thank you, Sonia. Thank you.

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Thanks for having joined us on this latest episode of the Jewelry Connoisseur podcast, you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google and YouTube. If you like this podcast, give us your feedback and make sure that you subscribe so you won’t miss any single episode. You also can find information on estate and antique jewelry on jewelryconnoisseur.net