A Little Bird Told Me : Art Nouveau Gold Vermeil Stick Pin

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Isn’t she lovely! The happiest maiden in conversation with a party of little bird friends. She stole my heart at hello 💛 I wonder what secrets they are sharing.

I wish I could tell you that I’d discovered all kinds of interesting facts about our sweet lady, but unfortunately I have not been able to learn much about her at all. The stick pin does not have any kids of hallmarks that I can find. My research has shown me that she is the splitting image of a Krementz & Co. design – only in reverse! The Krementz ladies look to the right, and our lady looks to the left. It is still quite likely that this is a Krementz pin as they did not hallmark all of their products, but without a makers mark or evidence in an old catalogue I can’t make that claim for certain.

Out of curiosity it may interest you to know that Krementz were one of America’s longest running jewellery businesses, established in 1866 and originally well known for their men’s gold jewellery, particularly collar buttons and cufflinks. Men’s jewellery remained the cornerstone of the business until the 1930s, when the detachable collar began to disappear from men’s fashion. Their pieces from the Art Nouveau period for both women and men are beautifully made, rare and collectable. Our dear lady would of course be just as at home when worn by a friend of either sex.

I have not found the perfect way to style our delightful maiden, so I’m offering her up to you clever folk. It has been suggested that I have her converted into a pendant, but I can’t bring myself to do it.

As I mentioned there are no hallmarks on this piece, but it has been XRF tested – the result was gold plated silver, also known as vermeil. This was a classic jewellery method employed during the turn of the century. It both reduced the cost of jewellery items and allowed for variation in the colour of metal – you might notice that the skin of our maiden looks paler than the surrounding scene. It’s a beautiful and subtle technique.

She is ready for immediate wear as-is, or have her converted into another item of your choosing to keep you in good company and fine style.