Late 18th century Portuguese Chrysoberyl Pendant

A gorgeous late 18th c Portuguese pendant, set with 65 mixed cut chrysoberyls weighing approx. 12.47 ctw. The radial half-dome cluster form, with cut-down collet bezeling in silver and a charming beaded trim in gold, is a well-documented and recognized Portuguese design, generally dated by museums and scholars as circa last quarter of the 18th century. This specific cluster design in chrysoberyl appears to have been made in two forms: as rings or brooches. Curved examples measuring under 35 mm are generally ring heads, and flat-back examples measuring over 35 mm are brooches. The present pendant was formerly a brooch; at some point in its ownership history, the original silver back was replaced with a solid gold one, along with new brooch fittings. My jeweler has replaced this later brooch pin with a simple pendant bail-loop. For a brooch of this type, see cat. 39, p. 54, “The S.J. Phillips Collection of Jewels of Portugal” by Diana Scarisbrick. Rings of this type are illustrated on cat. 123, p. 89 of “Five Centuries of Jewellery: National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon” by Leonore d’Orey.

Chrysoberyl is a rare gem with few natural deposit sources. Prior to the 18th century, it was sourced mainly from Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and too scarce to be fully understood. After 1729, deposits in Minas Gerais, Brazil were discovered, leading to popularized use and appreciation in Portugal and the rest of Europe. During the Georgian and Victorian eras, limited gemological knowledge often led to this gem being grouped with peridot and certain yellow-greenish sapphire/topaz under the umbrella term “chrysolite” (now defunct as a gemological classification). Today, gemologists classify chrysoberyl as an independent gem species (an aluminate of beryllium with the formula BeAl2O4) within the oxide mineral class (which also includes corundums sapphire and ruby). Chrysoberyls have a mohs hardness of 8.5, meaning it is the third hardest gem material available, after diamonds and corundums.