Retro French rose brooch in 18K gold and diamond hart 1940s
I came across this delicate rose at a local French auction and fell in love with it. It resembles an Eglantine rose, like the ones I have in my garden (for the garden lovers: Rosa rugosa “Blanc double de Coubert”). The petals are made of gold mesh, a technique which was introduced in 1946. The French call this style “ à tamis” or ”sieve”. The diamond hart you can scroll off and can be replaced by a gemstone hart in a different colour, but unfortunately this pin is missing the blue or pink hart. The rose can be worn as a pin but also as a pendant. The petals can move slightly back and forwards so that the rose closes itself for the night.
Besides the hallmarks for 18K gold, the back of the rose is stamped: “BTE SGDG”, this mention was in use between 1844 and 1968. “Bte” is short for “breveté” (=“patented”) and ” S.G.D.G.” stands for “Sans Garantie Du Gouvernement” =”without government guarantee” and means that the government was not liable for the working of the product.