The Georgian period lasted from 1714 to 1837 – the pre-Industrial period during which no jewelry equipment was yet available, and each jewelry item’s creation was a labor-intensive activity. Thus, each piece of luxury Georgian jewelry emerged as a pearl of the master’s perseverance and genius. The characteristic features of Georgian gold-work included gemstones in closed-back settings, foil backings under gems for scintillation enhancement, and unique ornate metalwork with an impressive variety of hand-crafted carvings.
All high-end Georgian jewelry was produced by hand, with the application of repousse and cannetille jewelry production techniques. Repousse involved the hammering of malleable metal into fascinating patterns and designs, popular until the rolling mill’s invention in the 1750s. Cannetille was a metalworking technique for elaborate wirework designs. Georgian-period motifs included floral themes, ribbons, sprays of foliage, and a variety of crescents, with a focus on flawless symmetry and ornated lines. The growth of Rococo influence after the 1750s gave the luxury Georgian jewelry lighter lines and elegant asymmetry. Gems used in the Georgian jewelry tradition included diamonds, rubies, sapphires, garnets, topazes, aquamarine, pearls, and corals delicately cut with the use of the table, rose, old mine, cabochon, and briolette gem-cutting techniques.
Today, connoisseurs of Georgian Haute Jewelry can hardly locate any surviving specimen of Georgian goldwork craft as the masters of those times often melted the items, which they considered to be outdated to produce some modern-looking pieces. But getting a unique, custom-made luxury Georgian jewelry piece is still possible due to the mastery of Rafka Koblence. Rafka spent almost five decades on studying the gold-work craft and traditions of the Old World to come up with authentic, one-off Georgian jewelry pieces for those who appreciate the beauty and fleur of that historical epoch.
Rafka can create any exclusive Georgian jewelry in line with the best gold-work standards and principles of the Georgian era. He applies the metals and gems common for that period (including silver, gold, steel, iron, and pinchbeck) and can perform your items in the repousse or cannetille techniques. Be it an early-period Georgian exclusive ring, a bracelet with heavy ornateness and rigid symmetry, or a late Georgian Egypt-inspired necklace or brooch, Rafka performs any luxury Georgian-style jewelry with perfection and mastery of an Old-World craftsman.
Let your imagination fly to co-create any opulent Georgian jewelry piece with Rafka as this high-end diamond jeweler creates unique, custom made masterwork for each client. Individual design performed in the best Georgian tradition will top all expectations. Join the world of Haute Jewelry with the splendor and allure of Rafka’s one-of-a-kind luxury diamond masterpieces.
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