Swarovski Crystal Bridal Combs & Hair Slides

We're right in the middle of the Gatsby fever and 1920s glamour has never been more in style. If you are a fan of Gatsby-inspired headpieces, then you will love Nina Rai's new collection of Swarovski crystal bridal combs and head slides. Nina Rai also offers a timeless collection of beautiful hand crafted tiara's and headpieces. She takes her inspiration from the sophisticated glamour of the 1920s and her new collection of couture head slides are available in Grays Mews.

The hair slides are all made using Swarovski (Austrian and glass crystals) and are Rhodium plated. Designs are molded to the curvature of the head with rise so when worn can be seen from the front (not only from the side). Each piece is impeccably crafted and presented in a luxurious black box. The designs are also available in gun metal and gold setting, with a select colour palette. Perfect to add a touch of elegance and glamour to the evening.

Litan - Swarovski Crystal Peacock Feather Hair Slide

Madie with Clear Swarovski Crystal (and Glass) in Silver Rhodium plated setting. Available as Front or Back Head Slide. 

Arna - Swarovski Crystal Flower Drop Hair Slide

Richly encrusted in Clear Swarovski Crystal (and Glass) in Silver Rhodium plated setting. Available as Front or Back Head Slide. 

Starn - Swarovski Crystal Drop Hair Slide
Richly encrusted in Clear Swarovski Crystal (and Glass) in Silver Rhodium plated setting. Available as Front or Back Head Slide.

Sefan - Swarovski Crystal Feather Hair Slide
Made with Clear Swarovski Crystal (and Glass) in Silver Rhodium plated setting. Available as Front or Back Head Slide.  

Empha - Swarovski Crystal Drop Hair Slide

Made with Clear Swarovski Crystal (and Glass) in Silver Rhodium plated setting. Available as Front or Back Head Slide.  

Lefna - Swarovski Crystal Swirl Hair Slide

Made with clear Swarovski Crystal (and Glass) in Silver Rhodium plated setting. Available as Front or Back Head Slide.  

Leinc - Swarovski Crystal Swirl Hair Slide

Made with clear Swarovski Crystal (and Glass) in Silver Rhodium plated setting. Available as Front or Back Head Slide.  

'Sefan' Slide in Gun Metal Setting with Grey and Black Swarovski Crystal (and Glass)

'Lience' Slide in Gun Metal Setting with Grey and Black Swarovski Crystal (and Glass)

New design 'Sephire' Slide in Gold Setting - Richly encrusted with Topaz Shades Swarovski Crystal (and Glass).

For more information visit www.ninaraicouturehats.com. 

Treasured Cameos & Magnificent Cameos; The Grays Collection

Here at Grays we have been watching the BBC series on Ancient Roman Art and are massively inspired about our own Grays collections. We are making aesthetic connections and are reassessing familiar objects. In particular it was the ancient cameos that drew our attention and made us exchange frenetic emails.

It is true to say that we all have a different relationship to objects, once we know how they are made or we have some personal knowledge of their original materials. What is immediately compelling about cameos in general are their beautiful delicacy and, paradoxically, their resilience and strength.

This is all part of their making process and raw materials used in their production. Because their production is so ancient, even more modern cameos would allude to a heritage connection. The extraordinary skills it takes to make a carving by hand, and object which is not moulded, means it's the techniques as well as the objects themselves that survive.

A cameo is an image carved in layered relief on a semi-precious gemstone, in antiquity normally onyx and agate, or glass and shell in modern work. It features a raised relief of an image engraved in layers revealing contrasting colours. The largest ancient cameo which has survived is the Great Cameo of France. It seems to have come from the treasury of the Byzantine Empire and through the Julio-Claudian Dynasty to the Treasury of the Sainte Chapelle and the Cabinet des Medailles of Louis XVI, and finally now on display in the Louvre, it is astonishingly engraved in twenty four layers.

Our cameos here at Grays are perhaps less historic but rather more accessible. Mostly Victorian but also as early as 16th century, which were either hand carved shells or glass by highly skilled artisans originating in Italy but becoming desirable in North Europe retaining the heritage of those early cameo days.

Circa 1870 Cameo Brooch, English. Offered by Kikuchi.

Large Blue Lava and Silver Cameo Brooch of Goddess Fortuna. The cameo is Italian from the Grand Tour period of the first quarter of the 19th century. Offered by Peter Szuhay. 

A Georgian Lava Cameo of Bacchus. This is a very fine bit of carving in lava. It would have been sold to a Grand Tour visitor, in Naples, circa 1820. Offered by The Antique Jewellery Company

A Carved Labradorite Cameo Set in Gold Enamel and Rubies Brooch/Pendant. Circa 1880. Offered by John Joseph. 

Shell Cameo Brooch, circa 1880. Offered by Satoe.

Two Coloured Agate Cameo. Probably Italian, circa 1550. Battle of the Seamonsters. Offered by Peter Szuhay.

16th Century Garnet Cameo with the portrait of St. Charles Borromeo as a Cardinal. Offered by Peter Szuhay.

Victorian Cameo Earrings. Set in 15ct gold and made circa 1850. They are shell cameos and were probably carved in Italy in the Classical style, which was very popular at the time. Offered by The Antique Jewellery Company.

Victorian Coral Cameo Brooch.Offered by Ting's Jewellery Brooch.

Victorian Carved Shell Cameo Brooch depicting a cherub rowing on the sea using a quiver of arrows as a raft and a single arrow as a mast. Offered by The Antique Jewellery Company.

For more information and cameos visit our website:

www.graysantiques.com

Tea Cups and Saucers

The common mug and a modern tea cup with saucer have not always been that way.

The history of tea cups spans hundreds of years and several continents as the popularity of tea spread from China and India to England and the West. Over time, tea cup designs changed as different cultures embraced tea. The original vessels used for preparing tea in China were made out of porcelain in two colours: white and blue and had no handles. In modern China and Japan the bowl shape, made out of porcelain and clay is still employed in the making of tea cups.

Silver tea cups without handles arrived in Europe during the reign of George II. The nobility used silver or pewter for their tea but the heat made the metal hot and impossible to hold.  Not until the mid 1750s was a small handle added to prevent the ladies form burning their fingers. As the custom of tea spread to Europe, the teaware range included the tea pot, sugar holders, milk/creamer containers, and even tea spoons to match.

In Britain tea cups began as dainty little porcelain cups with hand painted flowers and pale pink backgrounds. Hand painted tea cups were produced frequently right up until the 1920s when more commercialised mass production of tea cups evolved.

Some of the most consistently popular manufacturers of tea cups are: Limoges, Meissen, Haviland, Royal Doulton and Wedgwood.

Here at Grays you will find a great selection of tea cups and saucers in various styles and colours. Here are our favourite picks: 

Chinese tea bowl decorated with European design from Guest and Gray

An Art Nouveau silver four piece tea set from Van Den Bosch

 This lovely English Rose Cup and Saucer is available from Olympic Antiquer

Large Victorian Royal Staffordshire Cup and Saucer from Cekay

Shelley Baloon Tree Cup and Saucer from Deco Etcetera

18th century Meissen Cup and Saucer from K & M Antiques

Visit Grays to pick your favourite cup and saucer.

Vintage Modes - Luxury Vintage Fashion in Grays Mews

For those in the know, Grays Mews is a must-visit destination for designer vintage fashion and unique statement pieces.  Located in the heart of the West End, moments from Bond Street and seconds from Oxford Street – Vintage Modes is home to a collective of specialist vintage dealers with more than a few rare fashion finds in their collections.

1960s beaded dress, £200.

Vintage Joseph silk blouse, £190.

Vintage Modes brings together four leading vintage fashion dealers, making it an essential stop for savvy vintage shoppers. From popular to rare pieces, the dealers’ collections include dresses, shoes, handbags, scarves, hats and accessories from the Victorian era through to the 1990s. Chanel, Biba, Jean Muir, Ossie Clark, Halston, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Mary Quant, Lanvin and Pucci are a few of the great designer names that can be regularly found at Vintage Modes.

 

 

Vintage silk blouse, £120.

 

1970s Pierre Cardin silk blouse, £125.

Vintage Modes is open Monday to Friday from 10am until 6pm.  Why not come and have a look for some vintage pieces to update to your summer wardrobe.

Pearls - The Queen of Gems

For centuries pearls have been appreciated for their lustre, beauty and rarity.   Throughout history pearls have been revered in cultures around the world from India and China to the Middle East and Egypt.  The world's oldest natural pearl was discovered quite recently in a grave in Umm Al Quwain, United Arab Emirates. The pearl dates back to the Neolithic Period around 5500BC, making it 7500 years old!

Indian necklace with diamonds and seed pearls. Offered by Michael G Longmore.

Natural pearls, found in oysters are form naturally when an irritant such as bacteria or grit enters the pearl.  The oyster or mollusk covers the irritant in layers of nacre, the same material used to form its shell.  These naturally forming pearls are extremely rare and before the development of cultured pearls in the early 1900s, natural pearls were considered the most prized gemstone, so valuable they were only available to nobility or the very wealthy.

  

A piece of clothing used by Kuwaiti divers searching for pearls. On display in the Maritime Museum in Kuwait City, Kuwait.

 

Belle Epoque Mississippi freshwater pearl & diamond pendant. Offered by Jan Havlik.

Cultured pearls transformed the pearl market in the early 20th century.  Cultured pearls are pearls that have been produced with human intervention. Oysters can be encouraged to produce pearls by inserting a tiny foreign object into the oysters body which speeds up the natural process.  

Natural pearl and diamond ring c1920s. Offered by Saul Greenstein.

Kokichi Mikimoto in Japan was one of the first people to recognise and develop a method for creating cultured pearls. In 1916 he was granted a patent for producing round pearls and over the years he revolutionised pearling to eventually make pearls accessible and affordable to the mass market. Cultured pearls are still made using the natural process and therefore can be just as high quality as fully natural pearls.

Rare pair of South Sea pearl earrings with the same shape but differing in colour. £3500. Offered by The Gilded Lily.

The shape of the pearl is one factor that helps in determining it's value and quality. As pearls are naturally occurring they come in a diverse range of colours and shapes.  The longer the pearl is left within the oyster the more chance there is of it developing an irregular shape. 

1940s South Sea pearl and diamond earrings. Offered by Pushkin Antiques.

Round - Perfectly round pearls are incredibly rare and most desirable due to their regular shape. This combination makes them the most valuable.

Near-round- Almost perfectly round but with a slightly oval or of a flattened shape.

Button - Button pearls are generally round on one side and flatter on the other. Button pearls are often used to make earrings.

Baroque - Baroque pearls are irregular in shape and not symmetrical.

Cultured Tahitian baroque pearl necklace. Offered by The Pearl Gallery.

Pearls can vary in shape and colour depending on where they are produced.  The climate and conditions as well as they type of oyster or mollusk they are made in all play are part in the pearls final aesthetic.   For example Tahitian pearls are famous for their black colour and South Sea pearls are the same colour as their host the Pinctada maxima pearl oyster and can be white, silver, pink, gold or cream in colour.

Diamond and pearl drop earrings, c1910. Offered by John Joseph.

Here at Grays our jewellery dealers stock a wide range of pearls from different periods from Victorian seed pearls, cultured and natural pearls to baroque and vintage faux pearls. With such variety you are sure to find a special piece of pearl jewellery to suit your taste and budget.

Edwardian diamond & natural pearl cluster ring. £1500. Offered by The Antique Jewellery Company.

Spring Accessories

As the first signs of spring arrive, it's the perfect time to update your wardrobe with some stylish accessories. Here at Grays you can express your personal style with chic jewellery, bags, sunglasses, hats, and much more! All unique to make you stand out from the crowd. Take your pick:

Add a splash of colour to your day with this stunning Prada handbag offered by Linda Bee

Add some elegance with this cloche hat from Vintage Modes

Feel like a star with this unique Victorian pendant/brooch from Aurum

Transform your outfit with this amazing Art Deco Neclace from Gillian Horsup

Add something special with these deep blue earrings from Charlotte Sayers

Happy Spring Shopping from everyone at Grays!

Elements of Love

As the second ever dedicated men's fashion week in London ended in January we want to continue the theme of men's fashion and add some special notes to the best elements from London for men. In the shows we have seen modern tailoring, and sporty styles flourish, plus a more masculine line and the 'gentleman explorer' make an appearance with the country attire filtered through West London spirit and gender bending to opinion dividing with frills, wet look-hair, and nude skin. Accessorise and distinguish yourself with unique pieces of arts and antiques, objects of superb craftsmanship and exquisite aesthetics, discover them for yourself at Grays in the heart of Mayfair.

18th century agate cameo and gold ring depicting a couple in erotic embrace. 

From Peter Szuhay

Bronze pipe tamper, 18^th-19^th century, English.
  From Jane Stewart

Estruscan/Latium Fibula, 950-850 BC.
Ex Woodman-Higgins Museum Collection.
From Jane Stewart

Estruscan Fibula, 725-675 BC. Decorated with incised geometric designs.
Ex Woodman-Higgins Museum Collection.
From Jane Stewart

Resin Classical Torso, Museum Copy

From Jane Stewart

Victorian Gold Cufflinks and Studs Set in Original Case

From The Antique Jewellery Company

 Victorian 18ct Gold & Cornelian Intaglio Signet Ring

From The Antique Jewellery Company

Mannerist old master drawing showing Hercules wrestling Anteus. C1620.

From Patrick Boyd-Carpenter

 

Old Master Print

From Jane Stewart

www.graysantiques.com