In the archaeological revival style set to the centre with an oval Chalcedony cluster rose diamond and radiating lapis lazuli within a rope work surround suspended within a similar larger outer frame, with French guarantee mark and original case.
Weight: 38gr.
Size : 6cm x 3,5cm

Eugene Fontenay, 1824-1887, was a renown third generation Parisian jeweler who achieved critical acclaim for his original interpretations of jewels in the Archaeological Revival style. The pivotal moment in his career came when he visited the famed Campana Collection Exhibit at the Louvre in 1861. The collection was purchased by Napoleon III for the people of France and included some 1,200 examples of ancient Etruscan, Roman and Greek jewels which served as a source of profound inspiration for Fontenay. At the Paris Exhibition in 1867, Fontenay held his first exhibition under his own name and was awarded a gold medal for his jewelry designs based on Greek, Roman, and Etruscan examples. Today, Etruscan Revival pieces by Fontenay are part of the permanent collections of the British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art and prestigious private collections.

Literature
llustrated in our book:
Beatriz Chadour-Sampson & Sonya Newell-Smith, Tadema Gallery London Jewellery from the 1860s to 1960s, Arnoldsche Art Publishers, Stuttgart 2021, p. 252
cf. The Belle Epoque of French Jewellery 1850-1910, Thomas Heneage & Co Ltd, 1990, p. 120-1, fig. 42

Collections
Collections include: Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Musee d'Orsay & The British Museum