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[Eddie P]

I didn't make this but it is so nice I thought it was worth showing to you guys.  This was sold at auction last week in Chicago for $50,000 hammer price.  It is by Cartier circa 1925, almost certainly employing workmen from the former Faberge workshop.  Rock crystal, moonstone (feldspar) and what looks to me nephrite though catalogued as aventurine quartz. Height 5 and 1/2 inches out of case. The kind of lapidary object I dream of owning.

[Eddie P]

one more.  The 'glass' is carved from a single piece of rock crystal/clear quartz.  The stem probably gold-plated brass, now a bit rubbed.

[Eddie P]

And another

[vitzitziltecpatl]

Wow. I seriously thought the "water" was really just water until seeing the last photo.

[55fossil]

   Awesome post.... I think it looks like Jade too.
     I am in the process of working up a 50 pound piece of Aventurine. Part of it is the sparkly green seen a lot but it works into some translucent green that mimics jade. I have started several cabochons and will try and post some pictures soon....  Then I will try and find some of my Nephrite Jade that mimics the color of the translucent green Aventurine. 

[55fossil]

   Seems I am working on a piece of Amazonite, not Aventurine.  I will post some pictures, hopefully tomorrow.

[R.U. Sirius]

Excellent post indeed. Thank you for sharing!

I did go down the Fabergé rabbit hole a few years back - endless youtube lectures from historians and art experts, books and documentaries from the public library, whatnot... Really beautiful works, amazing technical execution and innovation, and creative marketing and PR strategies.

[AgateLicker]

Thank you for sharing! It's so lovely.

[irockhound]

Beautiful!  My friends parents owned a rene lalique carved vase with greek women on the sides.  I loved looking at it.  It got thrown from its china cabinet during the Northridge earthquake and when the wife paid a young kid to clean up after the quake to maximize space in the trash can he took the vase and beat the rest of it to dust with a baseball bat.  375k vase as i remember.  such a pity to have it destroyed by someone who didn't know its significance.  What I always find stunning especially in VERY old jewelry work is the skills that they had with very basic tools.

[R.U. Sirius]

Hope people won't mind me posting an example from Faberge, made some 10-20 years prior to the Cartier creation above: Flower Study of forget-me-nots.

[Eddie P]

The naturalism, the trompe l'oeil power, of Faberge's flower studies is delightful.  And I am fairly sure the illusion of a solid quartz vase-of-water was his invention. 

[Eddie P]

Beautiful!  My friends parents owned a rene lalique carved vase with greek women on the sides.  I loved looking at it.  It got thrown from its china cabinet during the Northridge earthquake and when the wife paid a young kid to clean up after the quake to maximize space in the trash can he took the vase and beat the rest of it to dust with a baseball bat.  375k vase as i remember.  such a pity to have it destroyed by someone who didn't know its significance.  What I always find stunning especially in VERY old jewelry work is the skills that they had with very basic tools.

  Wow, that is a scary story.  I hope the insurers paid out.