Vintage Jewelry Find of the Week - Pietra Dura Mosaic Brooch

Mosaic jewelry comes in a variety of forms, from the superb pieces which contain hundreds of tiny tiles to create artistic masterpieces, through the cruder styles which are lovely nonetheless. One of my favorite styles of mosaic jewelry is called Pietra Dura.

In a pietra dura piece, the inlay stones are much harder, but the surface of the finished product is smooth, which differentiates it from the other styles of mosaics which have a rougher finish.

Pietra dura is an Italian term which literally means hard stone. It refers to the various hard stones, such as chalcedony, agate, jasper, and lapis lazuli, which were used in flat slices in the type of mosaic produced in Florence during the Renaissance period. This type of jewelry production continues today, and is sometimes applied to an example of the work. Generally the background is a darker color to offset the object being depicted.

Our vintage jewelry find of the week is a lovely Pietra Dura Mosaic Brooch which is set in 800 silver and also has a bale so that you can hang it as a pendant too. The chalcedony, malachite, agate and mother of pearl stones are set in onyx and the setting has a rolled edge and the stone is bezel set. It is just lovely and perfect for spring with the flower design.

This pretty Pietra Dura Mosaic brooch is available at Vintage Jewelry Lane for $155.99. You can visit the item page for more details on the construction. Pietra dura jewelry is becoming harder to find and is sure to increase in value.

Today's Vintage Jewelry Words - Pietra Dura

There are many styles of mosaic jewelry. One that I particularly like is called Pietra Dura. In this type of design, which is similar to Micro Mosaics, the tessarae or tiles are much larger and are made from hard stones such as chalcedony, jasper, lapis lazuli, and other nice stones.

These large tiles are then set into a solid back ground such as sandstone or black marble for a pictoral effect. The surface of the design is flush with no protruding tiles or grooves between the tiles.

Floral scenes are the most common, but any design can be used, such as butterflies, human figures, birds and architectural buildings.

The settings are generally silver or genuine gold, but plated settings and brass are also used. Most settings are open backed to show the back of the background stone used.

The popularity of Pietra dura pieces dates from the early to mid 1800s. This type of souvenir jewelry is known as "Archeological Jewelry." Mosaic jewelry of all kind became fairly widely available after the excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii.

Pietra Dura jewelry was found in Italy - especially Florence, but was also available around the same time in England and other European areas. I've also seen some examples of it in pieces from Taxco Mexico.

This type of mosaic jewelry is highly collectible and fuels much of the tourist trade today in Italy.

Be sure to visit my website Vintage Jewelry Lane. I have a large range of mosaic jewelry, including some of the Pietra Dura pieces shown in this article.

Photos are courtesy of ebay sellers anteaklovr, clelak and Adin Fine Antique Jewelry and vintagejewelrylane.com