The Hester ~ Late Georgian Garnet Paste Gilt Bracelet

Meet The Hester: Nathaniel Hawthorne's protagonist Hester Prynne was forced to bear the shame of wearing the Scarlet Letter, thus infamously associating that name and color with shame and a negative connotation. Not so here. At Old Curiosity Jewels, The Hester is a deep, rich, juicy scarlet color, but she is unabashedly so. She does not hide her richness, rarity, or what makes her special. Just as, if Hester Prynne were alive today (and real), we'd honor her for her compassion, resilience, and inner strength, rather than make her hide what makes her unique.

The Hester is an enchanting and dainty antique gilt bracelet from the late Georgian Era. It is set with the most lovely, rich, glowing stones (presumed garnet, but untested, so I am selling this as a paste stone bracelet). The garnet pastes are in closed-back, pie crust settings with foiling on the underside of the stones, which further enhances their glow (Water can damage foiled settings, so it’s important not to get the bracelet wet). The bracelet closes with a tongue and groove clasp with the closure for the tongue cleverly concealed within one of the stone settings. This kind of closure is fantastic, because it’s one you can fasten on your own! the gold setting also has a lovely patina that tells on her age a little bit, but that’s okay, because aging is beautiful. Normally, I do like to clean and polish my antique pieces pretty thoroughly, but there was something about the gold colored patina on this one that just worked so beautifully with the stones, so I decided to leave it as is. I can only imagine the dainty wrist this must have graced a few hundred years ago…where it’s been, the dinners, dances, and soirées it has seen, witnessing the romanticism of days gone by all while glimmering in the candlelight.

The Hester bracelet measures 6.5 inches when the tongue is inserted, and 7 inches total when unclasped and the length of the tongue is added. 13.26 grams total weight. Unmarked and untested, but appears to be a gilt, non-gold alloy. Please note that this is an antique piece, and is well over 100 years old. As such, it is a pre-owned piece and is not in mint condition. Antique pieces almost always have hints of patina, surface wear, small nicks, and other signs commensurate with its age. Please keep this in mind before deciding if a piece is right for you. I have done my best to document all the details or any major flaws of the piece both in writing and photographs to help you make your decision.