PASTE STONES

 History

Paste, rhinestone and crystal stones, are often all three terms are still often used interchangeably and are available in multiple colors, shapes, and sizes. Of the three, paste stones are by far the most expensive and rare due to age and scarcity. As for more modern jewelry, crystals are a bit costlier than rhinestones due to the higher quality. 

Paste stones were used in the 18th and 19th centuries as hand cut glass stones made to mimic the look of fine jewelry. In the aristocratic classes of 17th century Europe, particularly the taste-making rococo Parisians, fine jewelry made of precious gemstones like diamonds and emeralds was exhibited and fashionable. These stones were treasured for their beauty as much as their relative rarity—it was this rarity that prompted jewelers to seek out an equally beautiful, but less expensive, alternative material for their creations. [1]

As the new cut crystal stones became more common, paste stones were primarily used to imitate diamonds and many have a small black dot on the center underside to imitate the style of diamond cutting found during that era.

Though glass is composed mainly of silicon dioxide, it has quite different properties from a gemstone such as quartz, which has a similar chemical composition. For one thing, glass is amorphous, not crystalline. Glass is refractive, unlike most gemstones, which are doubly refractive. Paste gems also lack pleochroism; the property of displaying different colors when viewed from different angles. So, experts can often detect glass gems just by visual examination.

Paste, by definition, are glass stones and not natural gems, but its manufacture over the centuries became more sophisticated culminating in a true technical achievement in the early- to mid-eighteenth century. Paste was at one time an art form, since with paste gems, certain decorative effects could be achieved that are rarely realized with other valuable gemstones. The techniques used were every bit as skillful as those used with diamonds and precious stones; creations were considered fine jewelry in their own right. In fact, paste jewelry was popular with royalty and aristocrats in the 18th and 19th centuries.[2]

To understand early paste jewelry, one must be able to identify it correctly and not confuse it with Rhine stones that was made in vast quantity in the late nineteenth century and beyond. This appreciation involves recognizing a combination of the cut of the stones, the overall design, and the metals used, including the aging process which gives antique paste its wonderful patina.

ORIGINAL FROM NATIONAL MUSEUM COLLECTION

Photo credit: Greta Lindström / Nationalmuseum

This necklace made in 1890 is a classic example of the high skill that was used paste jewelry. This necklace has a sophisticated design and the elevated level of detail tell us that the necklace was mad by skilled craftsmen. The cut of the paste stones are made skillfully and the piece display’s different sized stones and diverse cutting techniques. The paste stones have been colored with to mimic tradition gem stones. 

The Late Victorian era (1885-1901) was also referred to the ‘Aesthetic Period’. Conservatism and tradition were rejected. Jewels of this period were different from the previous typed of jewelry. The Jewels became simpler, lighter, smaller (studs…), less heavy, less dark but feminine. These jewels fitted with an active life.

The new generation of jewelry designers were appalled by the blatant copying of historic jewels and heavy-handed creations of their predecessors. They sought to break with the tradition of imitative jewelry and create something completely new. Soft curves and natural shapes with more delicate coloring were the result of this overreaction to the past.[3]

During this time period, the Aestheticism movement (1860-1900) had an important influence over all of types of art including fashion and jewelry. The movement started in a small way in the 1860s, in the studios and houses of a radical group of artists and designers, including William Morris. [4]

REDESIGNED NECKLACE

RE-DESIGN

It was a time when they made fake diamonds so the pate stone opened up for more creative designs with bigger stones and experimental designs. More and bigger stones was used and the jewelers had a bigger freedom.

The original necklace has an intense design that I wanted to keep in the remake. The necklace original shape was recreated in CAD and it was simplified to give it a more contemporary expression. The shapes were later altered with the tool bounding box. The bottom layers were extracted and stretched in the Y and X direction, which created a melting affect.

The CAD designs where 3d printed in wax which was later cat in 925 sterling silver. The top layers where intact keeping the intricate design of 136 stone settings.

process picture

3d-model of redesign

Footnotes

[1] https://www.simonteakle.com/blog/antique-paste-jewelry-back-in-vogue

[2] https://www.gemselect.com/other-info/paste-gems.phporiginal from National museum collection

[3] https://www.langantiques.com/university/aesthetic-period-1885-1901/

[4] https://missloveschic.com/2020/04/15/victorian-jewelry-the-aesthetic-period-1885-1901/ re-designed bracelet

This project was made possible with the support of