Art Retro

Retro Style is a recent designation for the period in the forties when large scale, stylized geometric forms, drapes, bows or ribbons were all the rage. The Retro style was strongly influenced by its predecessor: the Art Deco style. Using the same type and language of geometrical shapes but with bolder heavier lines, shapes and stones.

Typical for the Retro style is its imitation of three dimensional folds of fabric with the ribbon bow as its most popular motif, often highlighted in the center with a calibré cut ruby or sapphire knot (mostly lab-produced stones were used (see also Verneuil rubies and sapphires) and diamonds in various cuts as white accents.

That gold regained its popularity during the Retro period was due to the fact that platinum was not available to the goldsmiths and jewellers since this was being used for the war effort. This was the main reason that during the Retro period different colors of gold became popular - yellow gold was combined with rose gold and green gold in striking combinations. In France goldsmiths worked with no less then 27 shades of colors of gold.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this strong design retro brooch.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be




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One of the joys of life...

Cherry picking in the Garden of Adin!


Click the picture to see a close-up of this elegant brooch.


Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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Autumn in the Garden of Adin

Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas


In all we do, and hear, and see,
Is restless Toil, and Vanity.
While yet the rolling earth abides,
Fashion comes and goes like ocean tides;

And ere one style dies,
Another trend shall rise;
That, sinking soon into the grave,
Others succeed, like wave on wave;

part of the poem "Vanitas Vanitatum, Omnia Vanitas."
by Anne Brontë (1820-1849)
(freely rendered)

In the arts, vanitas is a type of symbolic still life painting especially associated with Northern European painters in Flanders and the Netherlands in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The word is Latin, meaning "emptiness" and loosely translated corresponds to the meaninglessness of earthly life and the transient nature of vanity.

By the 16th century flowers would appear (again) as symbols of the seasons. Starting in Roman times is the tradition of the use symbols of mortality, transience and earthly remains. These so called vanitas images have been re-interpreted through the last 400 years of art history, starting with Dutch painters around 1600. It is from these paintings that the Gardener took his inspiration for this Garden of Adin Vanitas Vanitatum.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this beautiful Dutch rose cut diamonds brooch.

Antiqualy yours,

The Adin team
www.adin.be


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Flowers are love's truest language

(But sometimes even the truth needs a little help)

Flowers are part of our daily life. For virtually every event we have assigned a special flower. Flowers for love, church, church graveyard, marriage, etc. In the 16th century inn's use to have a branch or flower stalk as signboard which later often changed only into the name of a specific tree or flower. Many times one finds flower gardens in mythological sceneries. The allegoric use of flowers is uncountable: attributes for the springtime, the youth, the sunrise, the rhetoric, the virtue etc. Lots of countries carry a flower as national symbol: Hungary had the tulip and Scotland the thistle, etc.


On our site we have dedicated a page to flower symbolism where you can read much more about the symbolism behind the use of floral motifs. Enjoy!

Click the picture to see a close-up of this magnificent Art Deco ring.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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Yes, love grows on trees...

In the Garden of Adin,
in a gentle morning breeze,
Adin's paladin,
bent to his knees
and found love...

growing on trees.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this beautiful heart-shaped pendant.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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It was a moonlit night...

Once upon a moonlit night
Two hearts blended
Love surrendered
With embracing arms
Remember


(borrowed from a song by Frank Sinatra)

In Antiquity, as well as in the Middle Ages people believed that the cosmos is reflected in gemstones. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist traditions mingled with Pagan legends led to the association of certain precious stones with different days, months, astrological signs, Tribes of Israel and Apostles but also with healing powers for social, physiological, metaphysical and even medical conditions.

The moonstone is assigned to the planets Neptune and Venus. The combination of moonstone with Venus is interesting as still today it's considered to be a woman's stone. The moonstone is the birthstone or month stone for June. Moonstone should protect travellers, especially from danger by sea, reconciles lovers, brings good fortune, inner growth and strength. (Not that we necessarily promote or believe such claims, but we think they make for interesting conversation.)

In semi-precious stones there are gems and gems but this cabochon cut moonstone is the gem of gems. This top quality fine blue moonstone shows an incredible "three-dimensional" depth of color, which one will see clearly only when playfully tilting the stone and moving it. Transparant with a violet hue when playing with it in the light. Blue moonstones in fine qualities are becoming increasingly short in supply and push up the prices accordingly and to find one in this size is even more rare. Executed in platinum with six old mine brilliant cut diamonds in line pointing towards the moonstone, this jewel is an example how frugal and yet beautiful Art Deco can be.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this beautiful moonstone pendant.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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Archaeological-revival necklace attributed to Fontenay

ANTWERP, September 16 – It is with great pride that we offer this magnificent necklace here. A true museum piece that we are thrilled to have in our collection.

The continuous uniform fringe decorated with beads, wirework and florettes of this necklace is typical for the work of Eugène Fontenay. A demi-parure of very similar design is illustrated in French Jewelry of the Nineteenth Century, Henri Vever, translated by Katherine Purcell, p. 643. and a similar necklace plus matching earrings were sold last year at Sotheby's for $ 52,000!

The archaeological revival is the appellation for neo-styles of the 18th and 19th centuries that where inspired by discoveries in the excavations of Roman, Egyptian, Hellenistic and Etruscan sites. The first revival in the 18th century, which is called neoclassicism, came after excavations of the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The second revival was inspired by finds in Etruscan burial sites (in Italy). In jewelry, this style is characterized by granulation and filigree decorations.

There is some discussion among experts on who rediscovered the granulation technique. To some it was Castellani in the 19th Century but various methods of manufacturing and handling of granules have been described by Pliny in 79 AD, V. Biringucchio in 1540, G. Agricola in 1556, B. Cellini in 1568, M. Fachs in 1595 and A. Libavius in 1597/1606. In fact never since it was first used has granulation been a lost art. Until far into the 19th Century, the time of its alleged 'rediscovery', this technique has thrived continuously in many places like Russia, Bulgaria, Mongolia, Tibet and Persia. This also holds true for Swiss, German and Dutch folk-jewelry.

Eugène Fontenay (1823-87) was one of the foremost goldsmiths in France during the second half of the nineteenth century. He was a great admirer of the ancient techniques of granulation and filigree, and became best known for his outstanding work in the 'archaeological' style. Fontenay was no doubt inspired by the Campana collection of ancient jewellery, acquired by Napoleon III in 1860, and his firm produced much work in the antique style based on Greek, Roman and Etruscan examples.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this magnificent necklace.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be

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Noah related gold artifact in the Garden of Adin

ANTWERP, September 13 – Local archaeologists have made an important discovery at the Garden of Adin which might lead to reconsideration of the history and landscape of the site. A report in The Heavenly Inquirer states that the findings include a Caucasian ear pendant made some 1,600 years ago. According to Elkan Wijnberg, general supervisor of antiquities in the Garden of Adin, the discovery of the Caucasian ear pendant is a clear proof of the historical value of the site. He explained us that Caucas, the ancestor of the Caucasians, was the son of Togarmah, who was the son of Japheth who was the grandson of Biblical Noah. He also mentioned the existence of a similar ear pendant in the famous collection of the jewelry museum in Pforzheim, Germany.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this magnificent ear pendant

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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Flowers of gold in the Garden of Adin

ANTWERP, September 06 (Reuters) – When weeding the garden the Gardener stumbled upon a peculiar branch of flowers that was hidden in the tares. Local specialists at the Garden of Adin told us the branch, which consists of three colors of gold and, richly adorned with rubies and diamonds, was made somewhere in the fifties of the last Century.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this magnificent bouquet.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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We saw it through the grapevine

ANTWERP, August 30 (Reuters) – Rumours have reached us that the Gardener of Adin is offering the above pictured bar brooch at a reduced price to Adin's followers. When being confronted with this the Gardener confessed. He told us that the price of the brooch had been curtailed by €1,000 which is almost $1,500! In a later statement he testified that this was done in an attempt to lower the presence of crystallized carbon in the Garden of Adin to meet with the standards as set in the Kyoto protocol.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this magnificent bar brooch.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be

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Sleeping Beauty Pendant

ANTWERP, August 23 (Reuters) – Once upon a time in the Garden of Adin, not so far far away from here, the Gardener was pruning the roses when he stumbled upon this sleeping beauty pendant. It must have been asleep there for some 100 years and just waiting to be awoken. We hope that we can be of assistance in its desire to be worn by a princess.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this sleeping beauty pendant.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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Ad ogni uccello suo nido è bello

(With every bird its own nest is charming)

ANTWERP, August 16 (Reuters) – During the absence of the Gardener for his sabbatical leave this year it seems that some birds used the quietness in the Garden of Adin to procreate. A bird-spotter spotted a hatching pair of birds and had Adin's photographer called to make a snapshot of the little love couple. We wonder what their eggs will hatch.

Click the picture to see a close-up of these birds on their nest.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be

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Atrocities in the Garden of Adin at absence of gardener

ANTWERP, August 09 (Reuters) – In the Garden of Adin a beastliness situation arose with the absence of the Gardener for his annual holiday. An alert passer-by noticed a serpent stalking a dragonfly and notified Adin's photographer who managed to create an image just seconds before the atrocity. We hope that at the returning of the Gardener its livestock won't be diminished too much.

Click the picture to get to what is left of the Gardener's livestock.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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Holidays in the Garden of Adin

ANTWERP, August 02 (Reuters) – And his wife said to the gardener: Behold, I need a break. Get us a place at an ark in the sky and entrance into a bright lit place. And behold! I am bringing the good mood flood upon the earth. But the gardener wanted to take of all his things of gold, many of each he wanted to bring into the ark to preserve with him; but his wife threatened to end their covenant. And thus the gardener and his family went on holiday without their jewelry; according to all that his wife had commanded him, so he did.

Wishing all our friends, customers and colleagues
a relaxing vacation!

Click the picture to get to the description of the ring.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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A royal shade of purple in the Garden of Adin

ANTWERP, July 26 (Reuters) – In medieval Europe, purple was worn by kings as blue dyes were rare and expensive and only the most wealthy or the aristocracy could afford to wear them. Therefore it is not unexpected that Adin's gardeners found blooming evidence of the origin of this color in the Garden of Adin. Chief-research Elkan Wijnberg said in an exclusive interview with The Heavenly Inquirer that he never had seen an amethyst in such ethereal purple before.

Click the picture to get to the descriptive page of this amethyst brooch pendant.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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Superb 18th Century cameo

Two weeks ago we were lucky being offered an impressive private collection of antique jewelry. The person who brought it to us inherited it from his parents, antique jewelry dealers who retired some 30 years ago, and he wanted to find a good home for it. We felt honoured that he came to us and were amazed by the quality of this collection. One could see the love these people had for antique jewelry.

Among the many high quality pieces we got was one truly amazing cameo. It took us many hours to determine where the cameo came from and what it depicted and the result is amazing. If you want to find out about this cameo just click the picture.


Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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End to plague in The Garden of Adin

ANTWERP, July 12 (Reuters) – Last week's mosquito plague that ascended over the Garden-of-Adin turned out to be a heavenly gift for the local spiders. Independent observers told us that they had never seen spiders as well-fed and healthy as at Adin.

Click the picture to get to the descriptive page of this spider.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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Swarmings above The Garden of Adin

ANTWERP, July 05 (Reuters) – In the beginning of the evening and morning of the fourth day of this week Adin's observer yelled: “Behold! There is a swarming of living creatures across the expanse of the heavens above the Garden-of-Adin!” And Adin's helpmate brought it to man to see what he would call it. And the man called it “stickpin”, that was its name. And we saw all Adin found, and behold it was very good.

(We believe that any resemblance with similar situations in history is purely coincidental.)

Click the picture to get to the descriptive page of this stickpin.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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Serpents and apples in The Garden of Adin

ANTWERP, June 28 (Reuters) – Well-informed sources at Adin, Antwerp - Belgium, told us that they are being overwhelmed with requests for information on the exact whereabouts of the Garden-of-Adin. For obvious reasons the exact location of this garden and its treasures is kept a secret. But we were told that the Adin-team is planning to offer on their website some of the treasures they will find.

In the beginning of this week, in the midst of the garden, a serpent was discovered. But behold! When Adin's photographer wanted to create an image of this illustrious animal, he found it entwined with a mate in a rather intense position on a just-eaten apple.

We believe that any resemblance with other known cases of serpents and apples is purely coincidental.

Click the picture to get to the descriptive page of these serpents.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be

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Another mystery in The Garden of Adin

ANTWERP, June 21 (Reuters) – Botanists at Adin, Antwerp - Belgium, have discovered a till-now-unknown flower in their garden. They suspect the plant belongs to the family of the Pansy (Viola Tricolor Hortensis). Lead author and a researcher Elkan Wijnberg at Adin Antique Jewelry suggested to name this flower Viola Albino Diamantes. Soon an article will be published in the magazine of Adin's Association for the Advancement of Science (not to be confused with the American Association for the Advancement of Science - AAAS ). We'll keep you updated!

Click the picture to get to the descriptive page of this flower.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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