Art Nouveau Crescent Moon Pendant in Fine silver

Art Nouveau Crescent Moon pendant in Fine silver

This Art Nouveau Crescent Moon pendant was made with an impression die on my hydraulic press. The master for this die was originally carved in the early 1900's! I have additional information on these antique die masters listed below.

This pendant may be purchased with or without the pictured sterling silver chains. If you would like a different length chain than I currently have available, please message me and I'll get it set up for you.

In die stamping, an original master die, called a hub, was hand carved by an artist in steel. These artists did not have electricity or modern tools, they used chisels and rudimentary tools to do this amazing work. The hub was carved in the male orientation, with the 3D design visible as it would be used in jewelry. This male hub was used to create a female (reverse orientation) die that could be used to mass produce stamped final impressions. These would then be used in jewelry making.

In recent years, my die supplier, Potter Tools USA, has been striving to save the original master dies around the world. Factories have been closing over the past 20-80 years due to changing consumer demand and technology. The factory owners would save their masterpiece hobs, protecting and hiding them from war driven steel collection drives. Those master hubs would be passed down through family lines. As consumer interest diminished in Revival styles, and steel prices increased, the 2nd and 3rd generations of these families have been selling off these masterpieces, often opting to sell as scrap steel.

The Potter family has a family mission to save these unique pieces of art and history and has spent the past 10 years tracking down and buying collections as they are headed to the scrap dealers. These collections are from some of the most prestigious jewelry firms all around the world. They also save and use original machinery in their machine shop, updating it to electric and supplementing with modern machinery to provide dies from those saved master hubs.

The jewelry made from these dies is not considered "replica" jewelry, it is stamped directly from the historical master hub. The work of those artists from the turn of the 19th century directly creates this piece of jewelry via the die stamping process. I am so fortunate to have access to these pieces of history and they give me great joy! I hope you will enjoy these unique and beautiful windows into history, as well.

Your pendant will be placed in a Shiny Sparkly Things gift box and carefully packed for shipping. Please report any shipping damage or problems within 7 days of receipt and we will get you taken care of. If you are unsatisfied with your purchase for any reason, please contact us within 7 days of receipt for a refund authorization. We are deeply committed to providing our customers with the same service we giver our family and friends and want you to think of us when you think of great service (and beautiful, unique jewelry, too, of course!).

Thank-you!

Sherri B

Sparkly Girl