Historical Design

INCEPTION    HISTORY    TIMELINE    MUSEUM COLLECTION     HISTORICAL DESIGNS

Black, Starr & Frost's history of design brilliance, significance, legacy and cultural contributions in the jewelry pantheon has provided some of the most stunning rare objects of beauty created anywhere in the world.

Photography was not widely used until the 1850's and printing technology did not permit any newspaper or magazine advertisements to contain images, drawings or photographs until the late 1800's.  As a consequence, many of the jewelry images are taken in more modern times, but the pieces themselves were made in the earlier days of Black, Starr & Frost. Many of the pictures of Black, Starr & Frost jewelry were provided by Sotheby's and Christie's auction houses, which annually offer about 100 lots containing Black, Starr & Frost jewels.  Generally, the jewels now appearing in these auctions were created during the Victorian, Art Nouveau, Edwardian, and Art Deco Period, circa 1837-1940.