28 - ERNEST VEVER: A LATE 19TH CENTURY DIAMOND BROOCH, FRENCH, CIRCA 1890 Designed as a stylised flower, centring an old cushion-shaped diamond within pistils set with rose-cut diamonds, petals and stem with old cushion and rose-cut diamonds throughout, mounted in silver and 18K gold, diamonds approximately 5.70cts total, with maker’s mark ‘EV’ for Ernest Vever, French assay marks, length 8.5cm

ERNEST VEVER: A LATE 19TH CENTURY DIAMOND BROOCH, FRENCH, CIRCA 1890 Designed as a stylised flower, centring an old cushion-shaped diamond within pistils set with rose-cut diamonds, petals and stem with old cushion and rose-cut diamonds throughout, mounted in silver and 18K gold, diamonds approximately 5.70cts total, with maker’s mark ‘EV’ for Ernest Vever, French assay marks, length 8.5cm Condition Report: Diamonds: principal diamond approx. 0.70ct, estimated colour G/H, estimated clarity SI, remaining diamonds approx. 5.00cts total, bright and lively Maker’s mark: horizontal lozenge with E(anchor)V located on the side of the stem Eagle’s head for French 18K gold located on brooch pin & pin closure Swan for French silver located on pin closure Pin closes securely Normal signs of wear commensurate with age, overall in good condition Total gross weight approx. 15g Ernest Vever was the jeweller who carried his family’s business from the provinces to the rue de la Paix. His father, Pierre-Paul Vever, had opened a shop in Metz in 1821, and Ernest trained in Hanau and Vienna, refining his skill as a setter, before taking charge of the firm in 1848. France’s defeat by Prussia and the annexation of Lorraine ended the Metz years. In 1871 he moved to Paris and acquired the business of Gustave Baugrand, former supplier to Napoleon III, at 19 rue de la Paix. Recognition followed quickly: in 1875 he was elected president of the Chambre syndicale de la bijouterie, joaillerie, orfèvrerie, the Paris trade body for jewellers and goldsmiths. His own work belonged to the nineteenth century’s revival of historical styles, drawing above all on Renaissance jewellery, alongside ecclesiastical commissions and elaborate pieces set with diamonds. He retired in 1881 and handed the house to his sons, Paul and Henri. With Paul running the business and Henri directing design, Vever took the highest award for jewellery at both the 1889 and 1900 Paris Universal Exhibitions. The firm Ernest had built on his command of the past had become, under his sons, one of those shaping the jewellery of a new century. The brothers continued to strike their father’s maker’s mark long after his death in 1884, replacing it only in 1912 with a mark bearing the family name, later retained by Vever & Cie and the one most collectors recognise today. From 12 November 2026 to 18 May 2027 the Musée de La Cour d’Or in Metz presents an exhibition tracing two centuries of the house through jewels, preparatory drawings and archive documents.