Orange & Green! Happy Halloween!
The beads in this necklace are faceted natural carnelian and the pendant is a Japanese Satsuma button.
Vintage or antique Satsuma buttons are one of the more intricate and beautiful Japanese pottery that you can find and come from the Satsuma region of Kyushu, the Southern island of Japan.
These porcelain or earthenware pottery buttons often features images of plants or flowers native to Japan, some may also have faces or buildings.
They are all decorated and painted by hand by skilled craftsmen, who use an array of vivid colors and gold enamel to make them come to life.
The buttons follow the usual method of manufacture that has made the Satsuma pottery famous and collectible. They are an off-white or creamy color, heavily decorated then covered with a thin translucent glaze which is then deliberately cracked trough over heating to give the hallmark look and design of the pottery.
They were originally worn as a set or 6 buttons on a kimono.

1930's Glass and Rhinestones Brooch

I  found this beautiful and incredibly huge brooch at an antique market in Provence, in the little town of Mane this summer.
It comes with a story, the brooch belonged to the mother of the person I bought it from. It had been a wedding gift given by an uncle who was a jeweler, when she got married in the 1930's. It is unique since it was made especially for her by her uncle.

Fishel Nessler Art Nouveau Brooch Necklace

The Art Nouveau brooch with floral designs mounted as a pendant on this necklace is signed by Fishel Nessler. The semi-precious stones are green kyanite flat ovals and the clasp with a floral design to match the brooch is made of sterling silver.
Carl Fishel and Louis Nessler founded their first company about 1885-1886 on Fifth Avenue in New York. They often produced silver plated jewelry with a brass tone finish and used a lot of floral designs. They deposited their first patent in 1893. Around 1898 Louis Nessler retired and Theodore Fishel became a partner. In 1910 Fishel, Nessler & Co went bankrupt. In 1911 Theodore started Fishel, Nessler Co (without the &). So it is sometimes a bit difficult to distinguish the trademarks and date the pieces. It "appears" that items with the & in the trademark are before 1910 and without after. The company stayed in business until 1937.
The Art Nouveau brooch in this necklace is signed F.N CO with the crown above and trade mark written under, so according to my research it appears to be one of the early pieces made by Theodore's company around 1911.

Damascene Pendant Necklace

I found this vintage Damascene tie barrette with birds and flower motifs in Provence at an antique market 2 years ago. I used it as a pendant with faceted black spinel beads.
Damascene is the art of decorating non-precious metals with gold. It has been done since the Middle Ages and was first done by artisans in Damascus (Syria). The craft was perfected by the Arabs and brought with them to Spain. The technique used has remained the same over time.
There are 2 different traditional types of patterns:
- Arabesque or geometric designs
- Renaissance motifs with birds or flowers.
These patterns are obtained by engraving deep cuts into the steel and then placing a gold foil into the lines of the design. The foil is hammered until the gold penetrates into the cuts. Each piece is then treated with a solution to obtain oxidation and creating hence the black background.
The back of all Damascene pieces is finished with gold metal.
Toledo in Spain is the largest center of production of Damascene jewelry.