Fabulous Butterfly with Demantoids, Diamonds, & Opal, c. 1900

One of the major trends in late 19th-century jewellery was so-called “novelty jewellery” (from the English word “novelty,” meaning something new or unusual). This jewellery featured unusual motifs designed to amaze the viewer. For example, small mice and piglets adorned bangles, while golden bird nests containing tiny birds and eggs dangled from earlobes. Everyday objects were also elevated to jewellery motifs: earrings were crafted in the shape of small golden baskets or silver wells with buckets. Not everyone, however, considered such jewellery to be elegant. Among the more subdued examples of novelty jewellery—and thus those acceptable even in high society—were butterflies made of luxurious materials. In its July 1888 issue, the women’s magazine *Bazar* recommended jeweled butterflies for a prestigious dinner ensemble, paired with diamond earrings, a pearl necklace, and matching gemstone-set bracelets (see *Der Bazar*, July 2, 1888, p. 278). Typical of the ornamental butterflies of this period are the clean, angular designs with pointed wings and, often, a setting of precious gemstones and diamonds. This colorful butterfly, which we were able to acquire in Vienna, features a body formed by a large Australian opal that sparkles in all the colours of the rainbow against a light background. Its brilliantly crafted wings are set with openwork-set old-cut diamonds and fantastically luminous demantoids—very rare green garnets from the Urals. The creature’s head is formed by a ruby, and smaller old-cut diamonds serve as its eyes. The butterfly is crafted from reddish gold, and a sturdy gold chain—added sometime in the late 20th century—allows the piece of jewellery to be worn as a necklace. On the reverse side, a distinctive feature is revealed that is relatively common in pieces of jewellery from c. 1900: Using a small screw, the necklace setting can be removed. This allowed the piece of jewellery to be worn in different ways by attaching other settings—as a hat pin, for example, or as a brooch.

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