A rare opal and gold bracelet for Liberty & Co

Price range: Sold

For sale is this really stunning Liberty & Co gold bracelet set with blue green opal plaques.  The clasp invisibly slots into one of the opal plaque links.  See item A394 in my Archive for a similarly designed Liberty bracelet.

The bracelet is unmarked and is most likely 15 carat gold. The use of “cloissone style” opal plaques is typically only seen in Archibald Knox’s work for Liberty. Examples can be seen in necklace model 8202 and pendant models 1382 and 1113 in Dr Steve Martin’s book on Archibald Knox, second edition, pages 246-7.  Th gold heart design is also seen on period art nouveau Liberty jewellery and is on ring models 4162 and 4117 in the same book, page 263.  Overall I am not attributing the totality of the bracelet to Knox nevertheless uses  a number of his design elements.

Authentic period gold bracelets by Liberty & Co are rare, and this is a striking and imaginative piece. It is in overall very good condition. Visible only under magnification are tiny elements of lead solder repair to the back of several chain links and small, unimportant, chips to several of the opal plaques, commensurate with the bracelet’s age.

Maker:  Liberty & Co (attrib)

Designer:  Unknown

Date: c 1905

Marks: Unmarked

Material: Gold (15 carat or better)

Condition: Good, see description

Size: Length 19 cm

Weight: 8 grams, 0.3 oz 

SKU: A434

Additional Information

Period

Art nouveau, Arts and crafts