Plique ajour Art Nouveau ring signed Dubret

Refined

With no doubt one of the better rings we have had in years. And we're proud to show it to you here.

Typically for the Art Nouveau style is the theme of the dragonfly as well as the use of the enamel. This way of enameling is called plique ajour. The effect of plique ajour (or: plique-a-jour) enamel is basically the same as glass stained windows. Translucent enamels are fused to span across a network of the 18K golden cells forming the wings of the dragonfly. This enameling is done without a backing under the glazed areas. The fused enamel is an integral part of the finished surface, with the glaze forming a shell veined with metal outlines. The effect of plique ajour is best seen when lit strongly from the back.

Plique ajour has been in fashion since the late 19th century (Art Nouveau period) for jewelry and small decorative articles. Although visually extremely alluring, plique ajour pieces are much more fragile than other types of enamel work and require careful handling in use. Being so fragile it is not obvious to find a ring in the condition as we offer here. We will advice the buyer of this ring not to wear it or wear it with great care. This is so much more then just jewelry, this is a piece of art, a collecters article.

From the maker of this ring (Henri Dubret) we can tell you that he is mentioned in quite a number of books (see literature list furter in text).

OBJECT GROUP : Rings
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN : France
STYLE : Art Nouveau
PERIOD : 1890-1905
SOURCE OF INSPIRATION : Mother Nature
THEME : Dragonfly
MATERIAL : 18K yellow gold
STONES : 13 rose cut diamonds. We don 't have the weight of these diamonds, which is normal in our trade when it comes to rose cuts.
WEIGHT : 2.90 gram (1.86 dwt)
ENGRAVING : The inside of the shenk is numbered 44410, which most probably is Dubret's inventory number.
HALLMARKS : Eagle's head and DUBRETS mastermark
MAKER : Henri Dubret, 1872-1947
CONDITION : Excellent condition.

SIZE :
Ring size UK : L
Ring size USA : 6
Ring size Continental : 16 ½ & 52
This ring can not be resized because of the way it is made.
For a table of comparing ring sizes click here

LITERATURE :
Cf. Art Nouveau Jewelry, Vivienne Becker, 1985.
La Bijouterie Francaise au XIX Siecle, Volume III, Henri Vever.
The Paris Salons 1895-1914:Jewellery, Alastair Duncan 1994, Volume I - The Designers A-K.
Mikimoto Library - Collection of Old Jewellery Designs II: Tokyo 1995, 'La Joaillerie Francaise en 1900'.
Illustrated: Art Nouveau, The French Aesthetic, Victor Arwas, 2002.


Please when referring to this piece, mention the following number: 02135-1009, or click here.


Click here to see more:
Art Nouveau jewelry
Jewelry with plique ajour enamel
Jewelry with insects

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