#Grays Antique Brooch in London

[nigelnormanuk]

Grays Antique Brooch in London - Nigel Norman

Are you looking for a unique, one-of-a-kind brooch to add to your collection? Check out Gray's Antique Brooch in London, home to the most beautiful brooches in the world! Since they opened their doors in 1975, they've been supplying customers with the finest selection of antique brooches. From Victorian, Edwardian and Art Deco to contemporary designs, they're sure to have something that catches your eye. Whether you're looking for a conversation piece or a standout accessory, Gray's Antique Brooch has you covered. Read on to learn more about this amazing antique shop.

While Gray's Antique Brooch may be best known for their selection of beautiful brooches, they also offer a wide variety of other antique jewelry. From necklaces and bracelets to rings and earrings, they have something for everyone. They also carry a number of other antique items, including furniture, paintings and sculptures. No matter what you're looking for, Gray's Antique Brooch is sure to have something that catches your eye. So next time you're in London, be sure to swing by Gray's Antique Brooch. With their vast selection of antique jewelry and other items, you're sure to find something you love. Who knows, you may even find your new favorite brooch! If you're not in London, don't worry! Gray's Antique Brooch offers a wide selection of their items online. So whether you're looking for that perfect brooch or just a unique piece of jewelry, Gray's Antique Brooch has you covered.

Next time you're in the market for some antique jewelry or other items, be sure to check out Gray's Antique Brooch. With their wide selection and amazing customer service, you're sure to find exactly what you're looking for What are some of your favorite antique shops? What kind of items do they sell? Jewelry is not the only thing that Gray's Antique Brooch offers their customers. They also offer a wide variety of other antiques, including furniture, paintings, and sculptures. No matter what you're looking for, whether it's a piece of jewelry or something else, Gray's Antique Brooch is sure to have something to catch your eye. So next time you're in London, or even if you're not, be sure to check out Gray's Antique Brooch.

What are some of your other favorite antique shops? Do they specialize in a particular type of item? Are they located in London or another city? Be sure to leave a comment below and let us know!

[ladyonly01-blog]

5 MOST EXPENSIVE ANTIQUE JEWELRY AND WATCHES

Jewelry has been integral part of human culture since time immemorial. As such, those that survive the test of time often come with amazing histories that are definitely worth retelling, especially when the pieces in question are worth sublime amounts of money. The five most expensive pieces of antique jewelry and watches are rounded up fake van cleef & alrpels jewelry here, along with a round-up of their fabulous past lives. 5. The Blue Belle of Asia The Blue Belle of Asia sapphire, so named because of its luminous peacock blue hue and its origins in the gem basket of Sri Lanka, has quite the mysterious past. It was first found in 1926 in a Sri Lankan paddy field, after which it was cut, processed, and sold to British motor magnate Lord Nuffield in 1937. Rumor has it that he bought the sapphire to bring to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (mother to Queen Elizabeth II, who reigns today) on the day of her coronation in 1937, but those claims are unfounded. In fact, the stone “disappeared” into private hands for over 35 years and resurfaced in the 1970s. The 392.52-carat,  cushion-cut sapphire was set into a diamond necklace and sold for a cool $17.3 million at a Fake Cartier Juste Un Clou Bracelet Christie’s auction in Geneva in 2014. 4. 1912 Cartier Devant-de-Corsage Brooch This beautiful brooch by Cartier debuted in 1912, when the brand’s design exemplified the aesthetic of La Belle Èpoque. The ornate, handmade piece features a 34.08 carat, pear-shaped diamond, a 23.55 carat, oval-shaped diamond and a 6.51 carat, marquise-shaped diamond in its centerpiece, which hangs from two lines of lily-of-the valley motifs connected to two palmette brooches. The epitome of luxury, this brooch’s sumptuous design is matched only by its equally-lavish history. An Englishman named Barney Barnato moved to South Africa during the diamond rush in the 1870s and started selling cigars to miners. He worked and saved until eventually, he himself owned several mines. Barnato’s nephew Solomon joined his uncle in South Africa and took over the mining business in 1897. Once he made his fortune, he returned to England and the woman he loved. In 1912, he brought his four best diamonds to Cartier and had this opulent brooch commissioned for his sweetheart. The piece was passed down Solomon Barnato’s family line and sold at auction twice before fetching $20 million at Masterpiece London. 3. Patek Philippe Henry Graves Cheap Van Cleef Alhambra Bracelet Supercomplication This Patek Philippe pocket watch may not be decorated with any precious stones, but don’t be fooled: this timepiece is worth a very pretty penny.  The Henry Graves Supercomplication was commissioned by its namesake, a banker and avid watch collector, in 1932 in an effort to outdo James Packard’s Grande Complication watch made by Vacheron Constantin. The Supercomplication has kept the title of most complicated timepiece created without the assistance of computers, boasting 24 complications in total, putting Packard’s Grande Complication, which was only outfitted with 10 complications, to shame. Graves’s timepiece included a map of the night sky as it appeared over Graves’s 5th Avenue apartment, Westminster chimes, a perpetual calendar, sunrise and sunset times and more. At a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva in 2014, the Supercomplication sold for an incredible $24 million. 2. The Hutton-Mdivani Jadeite Necklace Jadeite is an extremely rare (and expensive) variation of jade. The mineral is believed to cure illness and keep the wearer in good health, which are qualities that many would pay top dollar for. This particular strand of jadeite beads was most recently Fake Van Cleef Alhambra Earrings sold to Cartier for $27.44 million at a 2014 Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong. The exact age and origins of these beads are unknown, but their first appearance in society was in 1933, when the Cartier necklace was given to Barbara Hutton by Alexis Mdivani, a Georgian prince and her first husband. This piece is composed of 27 jadeite beads graduating in size from 15.40mm to 19.20mm—impressive sizes for this rare mineral. The clasp is set with rubies and diamond baguettes mounted in platinum and 18k gold. 1. Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond In its original form, the Wittelsbach diamond was a 35.56 carat beauty with a fancy, deep blue-gray hue of VS2 clarity. It was first mentioned in the aughts of the 18th century as an asset of the famous Hapsburg family in Vienna. In 1722, the stone moved to Munich when Austrian Archduchess Maria Amalia married Charles Albert of the Wittelsbach family of Bavaria. Charles went on to become Holy Roman Emperor Charles VIII in 1742. The diamond was first mounted in 1745 by Charles’s son and successor Maximilian I of Bavaria. The Bavarian king had the stone prominently displayed atop the royal crown, where it stayed until 1918. It stayed within the family until it was sold 1951, though they had been trying to sell it since the Great Depression. After the stone was bought, it changed hands several times: it passed between families, jewelry collectors, and even made an appearance in the World Expo in Brussels in 1958 before English jeweler Laurence Graff bought it in 2008 for $23.4 million. Graff caused controversy when he announced he would cut the diamond to enhance its color and clarity and ended up shaving off a stunning 4.45 carats in the process. Critics claimed that this drastic reduction of the gem’s weight also reduced its historical importance. Ultimately, however, Graff’s alterations increased the value of the stone, which was reevaluated as a fancy deep blue and internally flawless. In 2011, Graff sold the newly re-processed stone to the former emir of Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani for at least $80 million.

[caveartfair]

9 Booths Not to Miss at New York’s ADAA

ADAA: The Art Show, the quieter, more intimate fair that runs alongside The Armory Show, opened on Tuesday night at New York’s Park Avenue Armory. In its 29th edition, the fair features 72 galleries from across the United States as well as art spanning some two centuries. This year’s fair is particularly strong in its representation of female artists associated with the 1960s and ’70s—including a gorgeous solo booth dedicated to Michelle Stuart at Leslie Tonkonow, works by Betty Tompkins at P.P.O.W. and Pilkington-Olsoff Fine Arts, Inc., and a duo booth given over to the works on paper of pioneering abstractionists Jay DeFeo and Lee Bontecou at Marc Selwyn Fine Art.

The fair also features bold presentations of new work by big-name European artists Olafur Eliasson, who addresses the environment through paintings and a sculpture created with ice at Tanya Bonakdar, and Chris Ofili, who shows complex paintings that integrate the faint silhouettes of human bodies with rich patterns at David Zwirner. Among strong offerings from artists south of the border, Galerie Lelong is showing Cuban artist Zilia Sánchez, while Alexander Gray Associates has collaborative works by German-born Uruguayan artist Luis Camnitzer and The New York Graphic Workshop on view.

Adam Sheffer, president of the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA), noted that this interest in Latin American art is consistent with what we’ve seen across the art world at large, as the Met Breuer prepares for a retrospective of Brazilian artist Lygia Pape and the MoMA readies itself for a major gift from the stellar collection of Latin American art at the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (CPPC).

With a stellar selection across the fair, a number of presentations stood out from the rest. Below, we bring you artists and booths you shouldn’t miss.

Leonora Carrington at Mary-Anne Martin / Fine Art

Leonora Carrington, Temple of the Word. Courtesy of Mary-Anne Martin / Fine Art.

Leonora Carrington, Untitled (Raven with Pink Background). Courtesy of Mary-Anne Martin / Fine Art.

Latin American art specialist Mary-Anne Martin is showcasing an extraordinary, surrealist work by Leonora Carrington. In it, a diamond-headed deity appears to lord over an ancient temple that is embossed with hieroglyphs and suspended amid a stormy landscape. A British-born Mexican artist, Carrington was part of André Breton’s surrealist cohort and was once the partner of the painter Max Ernst. She was also a close friend of the artist Remedios Varo, who advanced her interests in myth and the occult. Carrington’s work is displayed alongside elegant, intricate works by modernist Uruguayan-Catalan pioneer Joaquín Torres-García and a glowing composition by Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo, among others.

Elisheva Biernoff at Fraenkel Gallery

Elisheva Biernoff, Horizon, 2016. © Elisheva Biernoff. Courtesy of Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco.   

Elisheva Biernoff, A Polaroid Land Photograph, 2015. © Elisheva Biernoff. Courtesy of Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco.   

Step inside Fraenkel Gallery’s booth and you’ll discover what appear to be miniature family photos, almost small enough to fit inside a brooch or pendant. A closer look reveals they are in fact tiny paintings based on found photos, which artist Elisheva Biernoff recreates in meticulous detail—down to the notes, in pencil cursive, inscribed onto their backs. These works represent a project the artist has been engaged in over the past three years, with each miniature taking two or three months to create. Biernoff is drawn to images with unusual compositions as well as those featuring emotionally candid moments in strangers’ lives, which she pays homage to through the act of careful reproduction.

Huma Bhabha at Salon 94

Huma Bhabha, 18, 2017. Courtesy of Salon 94.

Huma Bhabha, Fighter, 2017. Courtesy of Salon 94.

Standing like sentries on either side of Salon 94’s booth, sculptor Huma Bhabha’s totemic cork figures are accompanied by prints of heads in various shades, each seeming to metamorphose between human, beast, and alien forms. Bhabha is known for her monumental sculptures that recall tribal artifacts fused with science fictional monsters. These hybrid creatures are inspired as much from pop culture as they are from African sculpture and figurative statues from antiquity. Across the booth, these figures and the accompanying prints are all new and priced on the range of $2,500-100,000.

Sari Dienes & Addie Herder at Pavel Zoubok Gallery

Sari Dienes, Central Park, c. 1954. Courtesy of Pavel Zoubok Gallery.

Addie Herder, White Machine, 1961-65. Courtesy of Pavel Zoubok Gallery.

At Pavel Zoubok’s booth, Sari Dienes’s beautiful, elegant screen titled Central Park (c. 1954) looks like it’s stitched with delicate, colorful patterns or decorated with dust. In fact, it is the result of the late artist’s careful frottage process, which she used for much of her work. A Hungarian artist who was born in the 19th century, she studied under the artists Fernand Léger and Henry Moore, among others, in Paris and London. She would eventually end up in New York, where she created rubbings of the manhole covers in the street, and elements of the natural world—examples of which also appear in the booth. Alongside her work, Addie Herder’s intricate collages, some of which she called “machines,” are equally mesmerizing.

Alexandre Da Cunha at CRG Gallery

Installation view of work by Alexandre Da Cunha at CRG Gallery’s booth at ADAA: The Art Show, 2017. Photo courtesy of CRG Gallery.

At CRG Gallery, Brazilian artist Alexandre Da Cunha has an irresistible array of shaggy wall compositions made of mop heads as well as a tableau of smaller works—playful constructions composed of industrial materials, refuse, and found objects. A drum-like form wrapped in knitting wool perches atop a block of concrete; a tambourine turned on its side sits on the head of a glass bottle to form an anthropomorphic sculpture. “They’re almost like drawings,” gallery director Richard Desroche says of the sculptures, which, together with the mop works and a giant metal urn, are on sale for between $10,000 and $55,000 a piece.

Norman Lewis at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery

Michael Rosenfeld has given over a whole booth to the paintings and works on paper of the important Abstract Expressionist painter Norman Lewis, who has on view, among other works, abstract line drawings that resemble topographies laced with gold. This spare, agitated line, which the artist would smudge with a finger or brush, was typical of his work in the 1950s. He was inspired, a gallery associate said, by the form of winter branches and the houseplants that he kept in his home. In wide paintings also on view in the booth, anonymous figures appear to emerge from the atmospheric space of the canvas.

Pavel Pepperstein at Julie Saul Gallery

Pavel Pepperstein, American Mermaid in Greece, 2016. Courtesy of Julie Saul Gallery.

Pavel Pepperstein, American Twins, 2016. Courtesy of Julie Saul Gallery.

In Russian artist Pavel Pepperstein’s first-ever exhibition in America, the artist has created a fantastical narrative, imagining a series of drawings by former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (known as “Jackie O”) after the death of her second husband, the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. In Pepperstein’s ulterior reality, the artist discovers a cache of surrealist drawings by  “Jackie O” that are populated by the ghosts of ancient Greece, by her two previous husbands, and by her first husband’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. They are sometimes whimsical, sometimes political, often captivating—and they convey the complex psychology of someone who has suffered trauma and retreated into her imagination, a space still haunted by her past.

Liliana Porter at Hosfelt Gallery

Liliana Porter, Forty Years IIIB (hand over horizontal line 1973), 2013. Courtesy of Hosfelt Gallery.

To Fix It II (round clock), 2016. Liliana Porter Hosfelt Gallery

In playful works that are inflected with surrealism, Liliana Porter subtly shifts one’s sense of reality. Often using her cast of figurines—tiny, tchotchke-like creatures that appear to perform tasks and interact with two-dimensional works on a wall—Porter creates humorous, minimal tableaux. In Hosfelt’s booth, she has several such works on view, including those that reference one of her biggest influences, René Magritte. But the most seductive is a photographic print that sees images of two hands displayed side by side, with a thin thread tied around each of their pointed index fingers (Forty Years IIIB (hand over horizontal line 1973), 2013). The image, on sale for $15,000, is of Porter’s own hand, shot in 1973 when she first made the print, and again in 2013 when she added a print of the same, more aged hand, to the work.

“Photograms” at Hans P. Kraus, Jr., Inc.

Josef Maria Eder and Edward Valenta, XV “Aesculap-Schlange” (snake), 1896. Courtesy of Hans P. Kraus, Jr., Inc.

Josef Maria Eder and Edward Valenta, IX “Zanclus cornutus” and “Acanthurus nigros” (moorish idol & surgeonfish), 1896. Courtesy of Hans P. Kraus, Jr., Inc.

Hans P. Kraus, Jr., Inc.’s booth is a feast for analogue photography lovers. The presentation features several early X-rays (including one of a fish, beautifully revealing its delicate skeleton and gently curved, streamlined form), a rayograph by Man Ray, and contemporary daguerreotypes. Titled “Photograms,” the exhibition is a short history lesson in the development of photography, one that illustrates the rich tonal qualities of early photography techniques and the way in which the technology allowed viewers to use objects from the material world to create new forms.

—Tess Thackara

from Artsy News

[zayngirlelle-blog]

A Series of Unfortunate Events

A Series of Unfortunate Events by ensorcelled-oracle featuring Sur La Table ❤ liked on Polyvore

Self portrait midi dress, $340 / Temperley London mid length dress, $1,000 / Balmain lace dress / Self portrait lace dress / Christian Dior lace cocktail dress / Dolce Gabbana dolce gabbana dress / Lattori lace cocktail dress / Nina Ricci lace dress / Valentino lace dress, $2,780 / Chi Chi mid calf dress / Long sleeve dress / Miss Selfridge lace dress, $31 / Miu Miu pink lace dress, $950 / Chicwish petite cocktail dress / Sea New York off the shoulder dress / Balmain dress, $3,915 / Bodycon dress, $36 / LUCY IN DISGUISE high neck dress, $88 / Balmain dress / Gucci lace cocktail dress / Long sleeve shirt / Kenzo sweatshirt, $170 / TRAMP IN DISGUISE ruffle top, $78 / LUCY IN DISGUISE embellished top, $50 / Crop top / LUCY IN DISGUISE vest, $50 / WithChic button front denim skirt, $26 / Balmain high waisted skirt, $1,385 / WithChic flared skirt, $21 / Fendi handbag, $8,320 / Dolce Gabbana studded handbag, $4,015 / Kate Rowland pin brooch, $11 / Russell Lownsbrough antique ring / White gold jewellery, $4,760 / Tattoo jewelry, $4,925 / Hoop earrings, $1,495 / Rembrandt Charms metal jewelry / 18k earrings, $4,925 / Fur scarve, $305 / Gray scarve / ZeroUV oversized glasses / Tom Ford men s accessory / Sur La Table serveware / Santa claus ornament / Victorian sepia tone baby photographic portrait mourning brooch pin... / Oeuf Tooth Fairy Pillow / Love Lock Key Lariat

[nigelnormanuk]

Grays Antique Brooch in London

Are you looking for the best Grays Antique Brooch in London? Based on London Nigel has a fine selection of 19th and 20th century highly wearable brooches available to buy online and in store. Contact us now!

[nigelnormanuk]

A Fishing Theme

When I was young my Grandfather, a very keen angler, shot and yachtsman, took my younger brother and I on our first fly fishing trip to his local lake near Helston in Cornwall. From that moment on, I was hooked on the sport, from learning how to cast a fly line, to dropping a dry fly into the path of a cruising trout. Very exciting indeed at the tender age of ten.

Jack Charlton came into the shop and wanted to be fully kitted out

At the age of seventeen after leaving school, I applied for a job as a salesman in the fly-fishing trade with the company C Farlow and Co (associated with Farlow Sharpe’s of Aberdeen) located in Pall Mall, London.  After nine months, I moved jobs to the other end of Pall Mall to work for the House of Hardy, or Hardy Bros, as they were better known in the trade. During my four and a half years there, I learnt a great deal about the equipment needed to catch both trout and salmon, whether it be delicate dry fly fishing on the River Test, to deep water wading for salmon in Scotland. My knowledge and love of the sport has remained with me to this day and to a degree, has been useful in the years that followed.

I had the pleasure of meeting some very well-known people during my time at Hardy Bros. One particular memorable moment was when the well-known footballer, Jack Charlton came into the shop and wanted to be fully kitted out with everything he needed to be able to fish his local reservoir. Two and a half hours later he thanked me for all my help and left the shop with a biggest smile ever on his face. I would like to believe that I played a small part in fuelling his passion for fishing which eventually led him to host a television series on fly fishing some years later.

In 1979 my life changed direction, I joined my Father and Brother at the renowned jewellers, Harvey and Gore in Burlington Gardens, London W1. It was here that I learnt about buying and selling fine jewellery, specialising in wearable items of the 18th to the 20th century. Initially, my particular speciality was anything connected to the sporting world of game fishing but as I progressed I started to collect any finely made jewellery that was of a sporting nature or game related.

My passion for sporting and game related jewellery, is … as strong as ever

Upon the end of our lease in 2005, I decided to move on and began trading under my own name from the Grays Antique Centre W1, where I am still based.  I continue to deal in finely made jewellery but have added fine Cufflinks to my specialities with around 100 pairs in stock. My passion for sporting and game related jewellery, is however as strong as ever. At the moment I have in stock a pair of gold mounted, crystal cufflinks, with painted game birds in flight, a white gold brooch in the form of a Salmon, a Victorian gold Snipe brooch, and a very fine brooch of a diamond set horse head pavé set with diamonds within a similarly set horseshoe, to name but a few items.

I not only have my Father to thank for the wealth of knowledge he imparted to me during my many years with Harvey and Gore but I also seem to have mastered his art in story telling too. So here’s an amusing one for you.

It was when Grandpa took my brother and I all those years ago on possibly our third fishing trip to the local lake. We had caught nothing in the first hour, and were quickly losing patience so we decided to go and watch Grandpa. He agreed that no trout were rising at all so ten minutes later, we decided to have a little game with him. We collected some small gravel stones, and while he was casting his line in one direction, we threw a piece of gravel to his right. He immediately lifted his line, and cast into the direction of the forming rings. We continued to do this for about twenty minutes. A little later, we went over to him and asked again how he was getting on. He was quite perplexed stating how difficult it was that night, with plenty of fish rising, but nothing biting. He really couldn’t understand how such a good fisherman as himself was unable to catch anything, which of course was quite embarrassing in front of his young grandsons. We never let on and as mischievous youngsters, we continued with our little pranks whenever we were given the opportunity. This day ended in our favour, 0 to Grandpa, 1 to the Grandsons, which was some consolation for not catching any fish!  For more information please visit: Fishing Theme Nigel Norman