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Category Archive: Art

Love jewelry

Georgian gold acronym brooch REGARD, early 19th century.

Georgian gold acronym brooch REGARD, early 19th century.

At different times it happened that jewelry was not just jewelry, but veiled (and not so veiled) confessions. Such jewelry was popular in England at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, most often they were gifts from men in love to ladies of their hearts. The message itself was encrypted in the names of precious stones, from which a word was formed according to the principle of an acronym; most often, it was the word “REGARD”, literally meaning attention, respect. And in combination with other symbols – a declaration of love.

Gold brooch pendant REGARD, England, circa 1800.

Gold brooch pendant REGARD, England, circa 1800.

This exquisite brooch is a pledge of love from the distant past, meaning “The Key to my Heart.” The shape of the key and the heart that holds a lock of a loved one’s hair speak for themselves. But here is a set of pendants with precious stones: ruby, emerald, garnet, amethyst, ruby, diamond, this is the acronym for the word “REGARD”: Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby, Diamond.

In addition to “REGARD,” the most commonly used acronyms were “LOVE” (love) and “DEAREST” (dear, or rather, dearest):

  • “LOVE”: Lapis-lazui (lapis lazuli), Opal (opal), Vermeil (hessonite garnet) and Emerald (emerald).
  • “DEAREST”: Diamond, Emerald, Amethyst, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Topaz or Turquoise.
REGARD gold ring with precious stones and enamel, England, circa 1860 1869.

REGARD gold ring with precious stones and enamel, England, circa 1860 1869.

Secret messages of love encoded in gemstones during the Georgian and Victorian eras corresponded with the public’s interest in romance and symbolic meanings. These sentimental jewels could be given to lovers, family members or close friends. In addition to the fact that the dove carries the message in the acronym, the image of this bird symbolizes love and loyalty. Sometimes such decorations were paired, which also meant a happy marriage, since turtle doves create a pair for life, build nests together and raise chicks together. It’s not for nothing that they say about a couple in love: “They are like two doves.”

Gold brooch REGARD in the form of a lyre, England, early 19th century.

Gold brooch REGARD in the form of a lyre, England, early 19th century.

It is believed that the acronym jewelry was first invented by Jean-Baptiste Melleriot from Paris, creating jewelry with precious stones that meant “j’adore” (adore). Napoleon Bonaparte admired Mellario’s jewelry designs and commissioned acronym jewelry for both Empress Josephine and his second wife, Empress Marie Louise.

Gold REGARD brooch with lock of hair, England, circa 1840.

Gold REGARD brooch with lock of hair, England, circa 1840.

In the center of the brooch there is a medallion containing a strand of braided hair, a characteristic sign of this romantic time. During the Victorian era, jewelry with strands woven into them were very popular.

“She was sitting next to Edward, and as he held out his hand for the cup of tea that Mrs. Dashwood poured for him, she noticed a ring on his finger—a ring with a lock of hair set into it.” (Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility) .

Secret Lover medallion brooch, probably France, circa 1870

Secret Lover medallion brooch, probably France, circa 1870

But the next brooch-medallion is most likely of French work. A portrait miniature could be inserted into an oval medallion in the form of two glass lenses in a metal frame. Outside, the portrait was covered with decor in the form of a hand with a fan, made of gold with black and blue enamel, turquoise and pearls.

Gold filigree brooch REGARD in the form of a dove holding a heart shaped medallion in its beak, England, early 19th century.

Gold filigree brooch REGARD in the form of a dove holding a heart shaped medallion in its beak, England, early 19th century.

The portrait miniature is sandwiched between two glasses inside the medallion.

The portrait miniature is sandwiched between two glasses inside the medallion.

The secret of the medallion is that the fan could be folded by pressing a tab, revealing a miniature hidden in the medallion.

The secret of the medallion is that the fan could be folded by pressing a tab, revealing a miniature hidden in the medallion.

REGARD gold ring, Birmingham, 1903.

REGARD gold ring, Birmingham, 1903.

Gold brooch DEAREST, Julius Cohen, New York.

Gold brooch DEAREST, Julius Cohen, New York.

Love jewelry Fine details a ruby bracelet, a diamond ring, a hand holding a golden ball a pearl, between the thumb and forefinger.

Fine details a ruby bracelet, a diamond ring, a hand holding a golden ball a pearl, between the thumb and forefinger.

Love jewelry Rare gold hand brooch with luxurious cuff inscribed with the acronym DEAREST in jewels, England, circa 1860.

Rare gold hand brooch with luxurious cuff inscribed with the acronym DEAREST in jewels, England, circa 1860.

Love jewelry REGARD medallion brooch in yellow and green gold, England, early 19th century.

REGARD medallion brooch in yellow and green gold, England, early 19th century.

Love jewelry Gold medallion brooch REGARD, Edinburgh, early 19th century.

Gold medallion brooch REGARD, Edinburgh, early 19th century. Sentimental Jewelry.

Sentimental Jewelry Gold brooch medallion in the form of a lock with a key, England, early 19th century.

Brooch medallion in the form of a lock with a key, England, early 19th century.

Love jewelry Gold medallion brooch REGARD with a lock of hair, England, circa 1880. In this version, the medallion with a lock of hair is mounted on the reverse of the brooch.

Gold medallion brooch REGARD with a lock of hair, England, circa 1880. In this version, the medallion with a lock of hair is mounted on the reverse of the brooch.

Love jewelry Gold REGARD brooch with lock of hair, England, circa 1840.

Gold REGARD brooch with lock of hair, England, circa 1840. Love jewelry.

Love jewelry Pair of filigree REGARD dove brooches, England, circa 1820.

Pair of filigree REGARD dove brooches, England, circa 1820. Love jewelry.

Cindy Chao – Taiwanese jewelry designer

Peony brooch, rubies, diamonds, titanium, gold, Cindy Chao, 2018, from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Peony brooch, rubies, diamonds, titanium, gold, Cindy Chao, 2018, from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Cindy Chao is a Taiwanese jewelry designer. Cindy was born in 1974 in Taipei into a creative family, which determined her profession and influenced her style. Cindy’s father is a sculptor by profession, and her grandfather Hsieh Tzu-Nan was an architect who designed temples throughout Taiwan. According to Chao, it was her grandfather who inspired her interest in architecture and taught her to think in three dimensions. She learned various sculpting techniques and skills from her father, which eventually formed her own design signature.

Winter Leaves necklace, Cindy Chao, 2016.

Winter Leaves necklace, Cindy Chao, 2016.

The original, exquisite Winter Leaves necklace, impeccably handcrafted, features a constellation of approximately 6,000 intricately cut diamonds.

The original, exquisite Winter Leaves necklace, impeccably handcrafted, features a constellation of approximately 6,000 intricately cut diamonds.

Cindy went to New York to study jewelry making at the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Gemological Institute of America. She founded her brand in 2004 and now has showrooms in Taipei, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Her work is divided into two collections: Black Label and White Label.

Black Label Masterpieces are Cindy Chao’s most prestigious and exclusive creations, gems of art. They are the highest manifestation of her talent as a sculptor and artist. Original, innovative and technically sophisticated jewellery, created in limited quantities, each piece is named, numbered and dated. These masterpieces are presented once a year in invitation-only exhibitions and are highly prized by connoisseurs and collectors.

Ruby Butterfly brooch, Burmese rubies, diamonds, sapphires, Cindy Chao, 2008.

Ruby Butterfly brooch, Burmese rubies, diamonds, sapphires, Cindy Chao, 2008.

Every year since 2008, Cindy Chao’s collection has been updated with one of nature’s most stunningly beautiful and fragile creatures. This ornament is from the Annual Butterfly series. Each butterfly takes over 18 months to complete, with precious stones and thousands of pavé diamonds adorning its delicate wings. In 2010, Cindy Chao became one of the first Taiwanese jewelry artists to have her work purchased for the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Dragonfly brooch, presented at Paris Fashion Week 2016, conch pearls, rubies, diamonds, Cindy Chao.

Dragonfly brooch, presented at Paris Fashion Week 2016, conch pearls, rubies, diamonds.

Royal Butterfly Brooch, fancy cut diamonds, diamonds, sapphires, rubies, tsavorites, Cindy Chao, 2009, from the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Royal Butterfly Brooch, fancy cut diamonds, diamonds, sapphires, rubies, tsavorites, 2009, from the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Crimson Rose butterfly brooch, ruby cabochon, colored diamonds, rough diamonds, Cindy Chao, 2010.

Crimson Rose butterfly brooch, ruby cabochon, colored diamonds, rough diamonds, 2010.

Perfect Butterfly brooch, unusual yellow pear shaped diamond, colored diamonds and sapphires, rhodolites, Cindy Chao, 2011.

Perfect Butterfly brooch, unusual yellow pear shaped diamond, colored diamonds and sapphires, rhodolites, Cindy Chao, 2011.

Ruby Butterfly Brooch, Central Burmese Pigeon's Blood Ruby, Diamonds, Rubies, Cindy Chao, 2015 2016.

Ruby Butterfly Brooch, Central Burmese Pigeon’s Blood Ruby, Diamonds, Rubies, Cindy Chao, 2015 2016.

Brooch Transcendent Butterfly, diamonds, sapphires, Cindy Chao, 2012.

Brooch Transcendent Butterfly, diamonds, sapphires, Cindy Chao, 2012.

The 2014 Butterfly Ballerina Brooch was designed in collaboration with Sarah Jessica Parker.

The 2014 Butterfly Ballerina Brooch was designed in collaboration with Sarah Jessica Parker.

Aurora butterfly brooch, Burmese rubies, diamonds, sapphires, Cindy Chao, 2019.

Aurora butterfly brooch, Burmese rubies, diamonds, sapphires, Cindy Chao, 2019.

Damask Rose brooch, pink sapphires, orange sapphires, diamonds, titanium, gold, Cindy Chao, 2019.

Damask Rose brooch, pink sapphires, orange sapphires, diamonds, titanium, gold, Cindy Chao, 2019.

Brooch Emerald Bow, Colombian emerald, diamonds, alexandrites, green sapphires, titanium, gold, Cindy Chao, 2019.

Brooch Emerald Bow, Colombian emerald, diamonds, alexandrites, green sapphires, titanium, gold, Cindy Chao, 2019.

Four Seasons Collection Solstice Sculptural Bracelet, conch pearls, diamonds, green sapphires, alexandrites, gold, Cindy Chao, 2019.

Four Seasons Collection Solstice Sculptural Bracelet, conch pearls, diamonds, green sapphires, alexandrites.

Four Seasons Collection Sparkling Bracelet, sapphires, diamonds, gold, Cindy Chao, 2020.

Four Seasons Collection Sparkling Bracelet, sapphires, diamonds, 2020.

Brooch “Emerald Bow”, Colombian emerald, diamonds, alexandrites, green sapphires, titanium, gold, Cindy Chao, 2019.

Brooch “Emerald Bow”, Colombian emerald, diamonds, alexandrites, green sapphires, titanium.

Sculptural Lily bracelet, diamonds, sapphires, alexandrites, gold, Cindy Chao, 2019.

Sculptural Lily bracelet, diamonds, sapphires, alexandrites, gold.

Brooch Feather, sapphires, diamonds, titanium, Cindy Chao, 2019.

Brooch Feather, sapphires, diamonds, titanium.

Brooch bow, sapphires, tsavorites, diamonds, titanium, Cindy Chao, 2019.

Brooch bow, sapphires, tsavorites, diamonds, titanium, 2019.

Brooch Daisy, emerald, diamonds, titanium, gold, Cindy Chao, 2019.

Daisy Brooch , emerald, diamonds, titanium, gold, 2019.

Green Feather brooch, Colombian emeralds, diamonds, tsavorites, garnets, alexandrites, titanium, weight 48 g, Cindy Chao, 2020.

Green Feather brooch, Colombian emeralds, diamonds, tsavorites, garnets, alexandrites, titanium, weight 48 g, Cindy Chao, 2020.

Beautiful love story of chewing gum liners

Beautiful love story of chewing gum liners 'Love is...

Kim and Roberto, real prototypes of iconic characters. Beautiful love story of chewing gum liners ‘Love is…

Beautiful love story of chewing gum liners
The sweet romantic series “Love is …” has become the most popular in the post-Soviet space and the former republics of the USSR. The liners of this Turkish chewing gum were collectible and exchanged. Fortunately, I also have such a romantic collection. But I couldn’t even guess about a beautiful love story behind these bright images. It turns out that behind the images of a romantic couple of lovers were real prototypes. Actually, it was a story about love conquering death.

The author of these images was a cartoonist from New Zealand Kim Grove Casali. Aged 19, she began traveling around the world, and after 6 years she settled in California. There she met her future Italian husband Roberto Casali. It was he who inspired her to create two funny characters – a couple of lovers, the prototypes of which were they themselves.

Kim began to draw various episodes from the life of a married couple on napkins, signing above: “Love is …”, and ending the phrase below with text that matches the picture. According to the artist, it was like keeping a personal diary, which describes how her feelings developed.
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Collage illustrations by Berto Martinez

Collage illustrations by Berto Martinez

Beautiful inspired by Paris fashion collage illustrations by Berto Martinez

Collage illustrations by Berto Martinez
Fashion illustrator Berto Martinez

Berto Martinez is an artist from Spain who graduated from the School of Applied Arts “Llotja”. Berto began his career as an illustrator in 1999. The artist illustrates cinema, fashion industry, sports and many other industries. But the most popular were his sketches of the fashion world. Berto Martinez’s illustrations are published in the glossy magazines Casa Woman, GQ, Woman, Punto, El Pais, Casa Nueva, CNR, Custo Barcelona, ​​Vanidad.

Often the center of attention in Berto’s works is an interesting composition, the artist collects original “collages” of several characters.
Most often, Berto works with watercolors and graphic editors. Currently, he is engaged not only in illustration, but also in interior design.

“I wanted to be an illustrator since I was a kid. Drawings in books and comics were my favorite toys then. When I saw a poster by artist Drew Struzan in the 80s, I thought, “This is what I want to do.”

“When I studied art, I realized that illustrations are a very interesting communication tool, especially if you work in the media, you can get quite a large audience.”
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Photography art by Jan von Holleben

Dreams of Flying. Photography art by Jan von Holleben

Creative photo project “Dreams of Flying”. Photography art by Jan von Holleben

Photography art by Jan von Holleben
Based on his earlier series of photography titled “Dreams of Flying”, creative German photographer Jan von Holleben recently has presented the set of beautiful images. In fact, they were an addition to his series Dreams of Flying Revisited. In particular, he created the photographs of a young beautiful woman and her quirky bed of dreams for German newspaper ZEIT. According to the artist, he aimed “to create visual art work for a feature on dreams and what they mean to us”. Holleben amazingly transformed blankets and other everyday bedroom-type objects into imaginary but fun dream scenes.
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Vintage futurism of retro inspired ads

Vintage futurism of retro inspired ads. Facebook - striking, miraculous social team-up

Facebook – striking, miraculous social team-up. Vintage futurism of retro inspired ads

Vintage futurism of retro inspired ads
Sao Paulo ad agency Moma Propaganda has created some hilarious vintage 1960s-style ads for Facebook, YouTube, Skype, and Playstation.

Well, just imagine how these net sites would look in the past. Outdated and aged images still inspire advertising campaigns today. Undoubtedly, the charm of passed era will never end. Its style, design and typography will always belong to the future. Meanwhile, Vintage powerfully conquers the fashion world. These wrapping and presenting current products and brands in ‘vintage’ style appear as Vintage futurism. And the creative connection between past and future will always attract us. According to Leo Burnett (October 21, 1891 – June 7, 1971), advertising executive and one of the most ‘creative’ men in the advertising business, ads should be simple. “Make it simple, memorable, and inviting to look at. And make it fun to read.” This is also true about retro inspired ads – simple, memorable, and fun to look at”.
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Metro stations hidden architecture

Warsaw Metro stations hidden architecture

Warsaw underground. Metro stations hidden architecture

Metro stations hidden architecture
All the great cities of the world have their metropolitan net. At the most part of the cases, they are only functional infra-structures with thousands daily passersby. In other cases, like Moscow, lines and tunnels link stations with grandiose and retro architecture, where the passengers feel like guests of a solemnity. Through all over the world, we can find beautiful metropolitan stations, ancient or modern ones. It’s a pity that, at the daily rushing around, we have no time to take a long lasting kind of look…
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Live photographs by Arthur Mole

209th engineers camp Sheridan, 1919. Live photographs by Arthur Mole

209th engineers camp Sheridan, 1919. Group photography by American commercial photographer. Live photographs by Arthur Mole

Live photographs by Arthur Mole
British-born American commercial photographer Arthur Samuel Mole (January 7, 1889, – 14 August 1983) became known for the series of his human photo compositions made during World War I. In particular, Woodrow Wilson, the Liberty Bell, Statue of Liberty, an American eagle, an emblem of the YMCA, and the Allied flag. Some massive compositions required the placement of to 30,000 people – soldiers, members of the military. John D. Thomas was his partner in this endeavor.

Noteworthy, Arthur Mole is a pioneer in the field of performed group photography. Executing photographs using such large numbers, and relying on lines of perspective stretching out more than a hundred meters, required a week of preparation. In addition, hours to actually position the formations. Mole would stand on his viewing tower and shout into a megaphone or use a long pole with a white flag to arrange the tens of thousands of soldiers into position.
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Georges Melies the First Cinemagician

Georges Melies the First Cinemagician

Talented French film-maker Georges Melies the First Cinemagician

Georges Melies the First Cinemagician
French filmmaker Georges Melies was born on December 8, 1861. He was famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. Very innovative in the use of special effects, he accidentally discovered the stop trick, or substitution, in 1896. Besides, was one of the first filmmakers to use multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, dissolves, and hand-painted color in his films. Because of his ability to seemingly manipulate and transform reality through cinematography, Georges Melies – often referred to as the First “Cinemagician”.
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