I was so over the moon to find a brutalist era piece featuring Australian sapphires, it's often tourmalines or emeralds but this is the most glorious mix of sapphires straight from Australia.
A truly unique and new aesthetic, some would say the brutalist era is easily the most eye catching, extreme and unique period of jewellery design. The Brutalist era encompassed a celebration of raw, natural and unpolished forms. The style was hugely influenced by the Brutalist architecture movement (below). It is defined by its highly textured appearance which often featuring uneven edges, bold shapes and sculptural appearance. It was well removed from the traditional delicate style of the previous decades. It showed us that beauty could be natural, rough and unpolished, that the beauty of these pieces and their components was in their imperfections. It let jewellers unleash their designs as they no longer had to conform to standardised beauty.
The setting is in a stunning soft yellow gold hue that really sparkles around those sapphires. This pieces is c1970s and made at a time when Australian sapphires were gaining some traction and popularity. Made of 14ct gold with highly textured bars of bark patterned gold all held at different levels in wire work to create such a tactile look and feel. The way the sapphires have been spaced randomly and different colours have also been used across the head tells me this designer had an eye for details and style.
Hallmarked 14k JG
Size Q
Weight 5.10grams
Corundum - Sapphire x 1 4.57 x 3.53mm
Corundum - Sapphire x 6 1 4.26 x 3.31mm
Total 1.87ct estimated weight
Parti Colour (Blue/Green) 11-MI
Sits 13mm off the finger
Valuation $3800