Glossary

F.& F. FELGER INC.

F. & F. Felger were in business from 1911 to the 1950s, operating in Newark, New Jersey. They manufactured their own lines as well as supplying pieces to Tiffany & Co. and Cartier.

FABERGÉ

The house of Fabergé was founded in 1842 in St Petersburg by Gustav Fabergé(1814-1893).  Of Huguenot heritage, the family fled the Picardy region of France in the late seventeenth century due to religious persecution, eventually settling in Russia.  Though earning commissions to the court of Tsar Alexander II in 1866, the firm did not reach its status as the preeminent Russian goldsmith until after Gustav’s son Carl (born Peter Carl Fabergé, 1846-1920) undertook management of the firm.  Carl joined the firm in 1864, but due to a lengthy apprenticeship it was not until 1872 that he assumed management of the business.  In 1885 Fabergé was named Supplier to the Court of His Imperial Majesty Tsar Alexander III.  Fabergé won numerous other royal and distinguished clientele, including various members of the British royal family, Emanuel Nobel and Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, to name a few.

The firm’s rise to prominence within the Russian court also acted to expand its international clientele, in particular with relation to the royal courts of Europe.  More specifically, the Russian and British royal families were closely linked, being that the queen of England at the time, Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward V, and the Tsarina of Russia, Maria Feodorovna, consort of Tsar Alexander III, were sisters, both daughters of the King and Queen of Denmark.  The two families commissioned seemingly countless gifts from Fabergé to be exchanged amongst one another, as well as distributed to prominent friend and diplomats.  Queen Alexandra and, subsequently, Queen Mary were avid admirers of the firm, and the establishment of a London branch of Fabergé in 1903 was in large part to cater to the British royal family’s commissions.

What, one may ask, has attracted the most elite of connoisseurs to the work of Fabergé?  It is the combination of impeccable quality, ingenuity of design and--very simply--beauty.  First and foremost, every piece that came out of the workshop was flawlessly finished, due to Carl’s eye for detail and insistence on perfection;  the enamelling in particular is unparalleled, an art which has been lost despite general advances in technology over the last century.  Second, the creativity with which the materials were approached—prizing subtle contrasts in colour and texture above intrinsic value, which was quite a revolutionary concept in the age of diamonds—, not to mention the inventiveness and intricacies of the more complex works, such as the Imperial Easter eggs, some containing complicated mechanical conceits.  Finally, the sheer prettiness of the objects, which was perhaps best summed up by art historian and critic Terence Mullaly:

‘The real key as to why Fabergé answers a widely felt need lies in the fact that [his jewels] are intensely pretty, a world of which, thanks to puritanical aesthetic theories and even what imagine to be a social conscience, we have become frightened.’  

FACETING

Polishing a rough gemstone into a series of flat planes in order to bring out its maximum beauty and brilliance.

FATTORINI & SONS

The firm of Fattorini & Sons was founded in 1827 by Italian immigrant Antonio Fattorini (1797-1859) who settled in Yorkshire, England.  The company initially specialised in jewellery, watches and fancy goods.  In the nineteenth century Fattorini became especially known for badges and trophies, including the FA Cup and the Rugby League Challenge Cup.  Today they are known as Thomas Fattorini Ltd, Thomas being a direct descendant of the founder.

FEDE

The clasped hands, or fede motif (Italian for 'faith'), symbolises the marriage union as the joining of hands in a handshake marks the consecration of the marriage ceremony. It is one of the earliest and most enduring of motifs used in jewellery- seen as far back as Ancient Roman times.

Claddagh rings (two hands holding a crowned heart) seen from the Georgian period onwards are the evolved version of these fede rings.

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FIGURAL

Figural jewellery—jewellery in the form of human or animal figures—has been made for millennia. Jewels of this kind were fashioned by the Mesopotamians as early as 3000 BC, and were likely used as amulets, or symbolic objects of protective function. Examples also originate from ancient Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Celtic, Chinese, and South and Central American cultures. Figural jewellery is categorized into two types, either with figures in the round, or with figures set against a background. Rings in particular lend themselves to designs of the first category, with full figures making up the shank of the ring.

In the modern age, figural jewellery, very often rings due to the suitability of the form, became fashionable in Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, particularly in France, Italy, and Germany. An evolution of their ancient amuletic use, Renaissance figural jewels often displayed a theme or told a story, frequently Biblical or mythological. Albercht Dürer, the famous Renaissance German artist, is known to have designed rings of this type. Many figural rings from this period incorporated gemstones, as seen in designs for rings by Pierre Woeiriot, a French artist and goldsmith, dating from 1561.

Figural rings became popular again in the latter half of the nineteenth century, first in the guise of various revivalist styles, including the Gothic, Classical, Egyptian and Renaissance modes. Gothic revival style rings integrated full length figures of angels and saints. Sphinxes, pharaohs, and serpents can be found in Egyptian revival style rings, and Greco-Roman gods and nymphs in Classical revival style works, both drawing on ancient examples. Rings in these two styles were regularly set with intaglios, which again were inspired by their ancient counterparts. Renaissance revival designs largely mimicked the human and mythological forms of the Renaissance originals discussed above.

Around the turn of the twentieth century jewellers working in the Art Nouveau style embraced the use of the human form, especially nudes. These rings, like the original Renaissance jewels, were often allegorically themed. They are distinctive from the earlier revivalist figural rings in their swirling, intertwined designs, so characteristic of the Art Nouveau.

Whatever their age, ancient to antique, figural rings allow the wearer to bear not only a piece of beautiful jewellery, but also a piece of sculptural art, and as well as a myth.

REFERENCES

Diana Scarisbrick, Rings:  Jewelry of Power, Love and Loyalty, Thames and Hudson, 2007.

Hugh Tait, 7000 Years of Jewellery, The British Museum Press, 2006.

FILIGREE

A means of decoration, acheived using fine gold or silver wires which are formed in to delicate tracery.

FILIGREE ENAMEL

Decorative enamel in the manner of cloisonné.

FLANKED SOLITAIRE

A ring design composed of a single gemstone set between smaller accent gemstones to the shoulders. In Art Deco rings for instance, one commonly sees baguette cut diamonds flanking the central gemstone.

FLEUR DE LIS

A decorative feature which takes the form of a stylised lily. The fleur-de-lis can be traced back to the early Medieval period, when it first appeared as a heraldic motif and as a decorative device in illuminated manuscripts. The fleur-de-lis is perhaps most closely associated with the French monarchy, who incorporated the emblem in their heraldry from the thirteenth-century onwards. 

FLORENTINE MOSAIC

A type of mosaic which originated in Florence, usually depicting floral studies and naturalistic subjects set within ornately formed gold framework. Unlike Roman micromosaics which were formed from tiny glass tesserae, Florentine mosaics combine individually carved coloured hardstones set within a background of dull black Belgian slate. This technique is also known as pietra dura (from the Italian meaning 'hardstone'). 

Florentine mosaics were particularly popular during the nineteenth-century, when they brought back as souvenirs by individuals who visited Florence on the Grand Tour.  

FLUORESCENCE

The varying colour effects produced when materials are subjected to ultra-violet light. Some diamonds fluoresce strongly, the dark blue 'Hope' diamond fluoresces deep red for example.

FOB

A seal or other decorative items suspended from a man's watch chain.

FOIL BACKED

A thin metal foil placed behind a gemstone within a closed-back setting to improve its appearance. Metallic foil improves the reflectivity of certain gemstones, whilst coloured foils act as colouring agents when placed behind colourless materials, such as paste and rock crystal.

The practice of foil-backing gemstones can be traced back to Minoan times (circa 2000 BC), however it is most closely associated with the Georgian and early Victorian periods. 

FONTANA

In 1840 Fontana was founded by the Swiss citizen Thomas Fontana 1813 - 1861. The company was first located near the Palais Royal in Paris. The business continued through the family and the name changed to Ch. Fontana et Cie. in 1881 under Charles Fontana. Charles' cousins then created their own company, 'Fontana Freres'. Fontana was known for producing classical jewellery of distinct quality. Chaumet now hold the Fontana archives.

FOUQUET

The renowned French jewellery firm of Fouquet was founded in 1862 by Alphonse Fouquet (1828-1911).  He is particularly known for his jewels in the Renaissance revival taste, many of which incorporated engraved gems, cameos and enamelled miniature paintings of the highest calibre.  The successive generations carried on this excellence in quality and design.  Alphonse’s son Georges (1862-1957) took over management of the firm in 1895, and continued the high standards and cutting-edge design.  He is particularly known for his Art Nouveau works which are considered to be on par with Lalique, and for which the House of Fouquet won praise at the 1900 Paris Exhibition with their jewels designed by Czech painter Alphonse Mucha.  The firm next took up with great mastery the Art Deco style, with the help of Georges’ son Jean, who contributed to their display at the famed 1925 Exposition, from which the movement acquired its name.

FRANK WALTER LAWRENCE

Lawrence was born on 2^nd November 1864 and died on 10^th March 1929.  He apprenticed with several noted jewellery and silver makers in New Jersey and New York City beginning in 1880. Lawrence started his first business in Newark in 1889, and moved it to New York City in 1894.  Some of Lawrence’s distinctive silver work was produced by Newark's Lebkuecher and Company. In 1913 he and two cousins incorporated the company, and added an "INC." to all their work.

FRED

Established by Fred Samuel in 1936 in Paris at 6 Rue Royale. Fred Samuel grew up in Argentina and as such his designs are inspired by the vibrant colours of South America. FRED jewellery is renowned for its modern and creative colourful designs which match current fashion. Some of their most notable clientele include Grace Kelly and Marlene Dietrich.

FRED is the jeweller to the cinema, in 1989 designing the necklace made up of twenty three rubellite hearts worn by Julia Roberts in ‘Pretty Woman’. More recently FRED showcased their Star Collections pendant and earring suite in the James Bond film ‘Casino Royale’.

In 1995 FRED joined the Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton LVMH group.

FRÉDÉRIC CHARLES VICTOIRE DE VERNON

Frédéric Charles Victoire de Vernon (1858-1912) was a leading French medallist, sculptor and engraver who worked in the Art Nouveau style. Trained at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Vernon exhibited at numerous Paris Salons, where he won a first class medal in 1895. Vernon and a small group of other French medalists created medal-jewels which were a highly popular form of adornment around the turn of the twentieth century. Most featured female figures, sometimes set with gemstones. They were sold by the top Parisian jewellers of the day, including Vever and Boucheron.

FRENCH CUT

French cut stones are square or rectangular multi-faceted gem stones, displaying a ‘cross’ to the crown facets. They are a natural evolution to the table cut. The term “French Cut” does not refer to the country of origin, rather it refers to their shape and design. Its name is probably derived from the fact that it was more popular in France than anywhere else.

French cut diamonds date back to the beginning of the 1400s, but came into fashion in the 17th century where they were favoured by nobility and royalty until the brilliant cut was first introduced. The cut again gained popularity from the 1920s, during the Art Deco period, as their geometric appearance was the perfect complement to the linear designs favoured during this era.

French cuts can be seen occasionally as an eye-catching central focal point in a piece of jewellery, however they are most often are used as highlights, flanking a central gemstone.

FRENCH JET

Black glass made to simulate jet and was widely used in 19th century mourning jewellery.

FROMENT-MEURICE

The firm of Froment-Meurice was one of the most important French jewellery and silver houses of the nineteenth century.  Founded by François Désiré Froment-Meurice (1802-1855), he was regarded as the premier goldsmith of his day, described by Victor Hugo as the Cellini of his age. He exhibited in a number of International Exhibitions, winning numerous awards.  His clientele was the elite of Europe, including Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.  After his death the firm was managed by his son, Émile (1837-1913), who was an accomplished designer in his own right.  He upheld the status of the firm, continuing to win awards for his displays at the International Exhibitions.