'Priceless' emerald timepiece found among 350-year-old Cheapside Hoard

[Neil]

By Mark Duell

Set in a single Colombian emerald crystal, this astonishing watch dating back four centuries is going on display for the first time as part of one of the world's largest Elizabethan jewellery collections.

The Cheapside Hoard, a dazzling haul of almost 500 pieces from the Elizabethan and early Stuart eras, was uncovered by a group of labourers under a cellar floor in London's Cheapside in 1912.

Excavations at the site found evidence of damage caused by the Great Fire of London, dating the ‘priceless’ collection to pre-1666, and it is believed to have been hidden about 350 years ago.
 
Mysterious: A conservator opens the lid of a Colombian emerald watch, seen alongside a gild brass verge watch - part of the Cheapside Hoard, the world's largest collection of Elizabethan and early Stuart jewellery

Recent studies of a gemstone dubbed the ‘Stafford intaglio’, which is engraved with the heraldic badge of William Howard, the only Viscount Stafford, have dated the collection to between 1640 and 1666.

Speaking at a preview of the Museum of London exhibition, a curator said the hoard was likely to have been stored by a jeweller or goldsmith who fought in the English Civil War and never returned.


‘That's one of the big mysteries of the Cheapside Hoard,’ Jackie Keily said. ‘Who buried it and how did it come to be buried at that time? We don't think it was buried at the time of the Great Fire.

‘People did bury their precious items but in most cases people came back and got them. Although the building was destroyed, the cellar itself was intact.
 
Also included: A conservator holds a gold and enamel pendant, set with two sapphires - part of the hoard
 
Examinations: Recent studies of the 'Stafford intaglio' gemstone, which is engraved with the heraldic badge of William Howard, the only Viscount Stafford, narrow down the date of the collection to between 1640 and 1666
‘It's more likely that whoever buried it was perhaps going off to the English Civil War in the early 1640s, either a jeweller or a goldsmith.
‘This may have been their stock in trade that they would have buried under the cellar floor and then gone off to war and perhaps never came back again.’

The watch’s dial plate is enamelled in translucent green and the gold suspension loop and button securing the movement at the base are set with small emeralds.
 The suspension loop is set in a white enamelled flower and the main body of the case is cut from a single piece of emerald with a lid of facetted emerald.
The catch for the lid consists of a gold pin set in the base which passes through a hole in a gold tube set in the lid, and the watch has a gold dial overlaid with dark green enamel.
Set in a single Colombian emerald crystal, the watch is an extraordinary example of an item that would have been commissioned for a member of aristocracy or royalty - and could have even been for an emperor or king.

Pocket watches were first mentioned in correspondence between craftsmen and the aristocracy in the 15th century, and early prototypes were believed to have been worn around the neck. The first wristwatch was made for Countess Koscowicz of Hungary, by Swiss manufacturer Patek Philippe, in 1868.

.The museum has hailed the collection as ‘the single most important source of our knowledge on early modern jewellery worldwide’.
The hoard includes finger rings, necklaces, Byzantine cameos and jewelled scent bottles and showcases London's role in the international gem trade, with precious stones from Colombia's emerald mines, the diamond gravels of India and Bahrain's pearl banks.

Among the items to go on display is a Salamander broach with table-cut diamonds and a diamond-encrusted gold bow pendant. More unusual pieces include a tiny white and blue agate cameo depicting a woman's head and a Colombian emerald carved into the form of a parrot.

Fellow curator Hazel Forsyth said: ‘Ever since the unexpected discovery in June 1912, the Cheapside Hoard has been swathed in mystery, rich in questions that had been left unanswered for too long.

‘The Stafford intaglio has been absolutely vital in shedding new light on the collection, providing crucial dating evidence for the deposition of the hoard between 1640 and 1666, and making a specific link to an individual who had international connections and a penchant for collecting gems and antiquities.’

The exhibition, which opens in October, will display the jewellery alongside rarely seen portraits and historical objects from the museum's collection to highlight the fashions and culture in the capital during the Tudor and early Stuart eras.
Sharon Ament, director of the Museum of London, said: ‘The Museum of London tells the story of the world's greatest city and its people.

'And, as London's most exciting stash of buried treasure, the Cheapside Hoard tells a thrilling tale of mystery and discovery, with every jewel and gemstone unlocking a story.’

The Cheapside Hoard: London's Lost Jewels runs from October 11 2013 to April 27 2014

[Val Beechey]

Any one ever read Win in The Willows.   Looking at just those two items  made me sound like Mr.Toad when he saw his first motor car.

Oh My,  Oh My, Oh My.

How about finding that lot.  I bet the finder didn't get any reward back then. What amazing pieces, thanks for sharing Neil.

Val

[cardiffian]

Another nice read. Thanks for posting.

[rjm]

Stunning.