J.E Caldwell & Co. Art Deco Black Opal Necklace

Set with an extraordinary black opal, this Art Deco pendant necklace by J.E. Caldwell is also enhanced with almost four carats of diamonds. The broad, bullet shaped black flagstone opal with intense patches of red and orange fire is framed by transitional and French-cut diamonds, and suspended from a chain of shaped open links highlighted by twenty spectacle-set diamonds, and mounted in platinum. A product of the Caldwell family's third generation in business, this early Art Deco jewel of grace and refinement is elevated by an opal of astonishing size, color and phenomenon.

Dimensions: 2.25" length, 1.00" width
Materials: 1 fancy-shape black opal (measuring approximately 47.50 x 20.0 mm); 36 transitional-cut diamonds (approximate total weight 1.59 carats); 8 French-cut diamonds (approximate total weight 0.56 carat); 21 old mine-cut diamonds (approximate total weight 1.75 carats); Platinum
Gram Weight: 25.4
Signed: J.E.C. & Co no 20287

After training as a master silversmith and watch maker in New York City, the founder of Philadelphia's most prestigious family jeweler arrived in the city in the late 1830s. Caldwell soon opened his own business in 1839, successively moving to larger premises as his custom rapidly grew. A beloved member of the community, Caldwell was described in his 1881 obituary as "...genial, companionable...friendly and honorable. His charity was unbounded..." Along with T.B. Starr and Tiffany & Co., J.E. Caldwell & Co. were among the few American jewelers to exhibit at the Centennial in 1876. The business passed into the hands of the third generation in the early 20th century. Its premises illuminated by seventeen French Regency style crystal chandeliers suspended from 20-foot ceilings, the firm did business in the Widener Building, a Gilded Age structure across from Philadelphia's City Hall, for 87 years.