709 - Amber bracelet of 935 silver with seven faceted ambers in open chaton settings

Amber bracelet of 935 silver with seven faceted ambers in open chaton settings 935 silver and amber. Amber bracelet, one link stamped at the side “935” and “RR” above a triangle with crown and sceptre; link bracelet of seven faceted ambers in chaton settings, each stone held by four grooved claws, the settings open at the back, the central stone larger and pale yellow, the others orange to reddish brown; the links joined by ring links; box clasp with safety chain. Condition commensurate with age, the ambers worn and partly chipped. L. 22.5 cm. Already in antiquity amber was regarded as a protective and healing stone: amber beads that served as amulets have been found in Roman children's graves, gladiators fastened pieces of amber to their nets, and Pliny the Elder records ground amber with rose oil and honey as a remedy for inflammations of the eyes and ears. The Greeks interpreted the fossil resin as the solidified tears of the mother and the sisters of Phaethon and called it Elektron, after their word for the sun. The averting, protective power that ancient sources ascribe to amber lives on in popular belief to the present day. With a faceted amber, the resin is given cut facets like a gemstone; the chaton setting holds the stone open with claws above a ring.