Essex Crystal

Vintage equestrian jewelry sometimes finds itself under my Christmas tree.  These pieces are increasingly hard to find, at least in the U.S., seems to be plentiful but expensive in the U.K.  You may be asking what is Essex Crystal?

The lovely horse tie bar above is a good example.  Most of the jewelry was made in the late 1800's to early 1900's.    It is also referred to as "Reverse Crystal Jewelry."  A clear crystal is cut as a cabochon. A carving is made on the flat side like an intaglio, and painted wth a thin layer of mother of pearl to produce a three-dimensional effect.  Like most everything, you'll find varying degrees of quality.  But you will pay into the thousands for a nice piece.  The more detail, the higher the price. 

Here is a beautiful bracelet with a polo motif.  This one is 14K and appears to be very good quality.

This one is Cartier.  I can picture a lady in full sidesaddle attire wearing this as her stock pin.



This is 1910, a bit newer, probably not real gold:

Love these cufflinks, the detail is amazing.

Maybe your santa will go vintage this year!