Parisian Ajoure Rhinestone Fur Clip

I love this gorgeous antique fur clip!  It is done in what appears to be Sterling Silver ajoure and features gorgeous clear rhinestones.  Ajoure is often confused with filigree work, but they are very different.  Ajoure is actually metal that is punched, drilled, or cut through to make the pattern while filigree uses metal threads to create the design. 

This brooch is marked A-F PARIS Bte. SGDG.  So, what do all those markings mean?  "A-F" is most likely the maker mark, but I could not find any definitive information online about who actually designed/manufactured this piece.  "PARIS" is obviously where the clip came from and "Bte." stands for the French word "Brevete" which means "patented." "SGDG" stands for the French phrase "Sans Garantie du Gouvernenment" which basically means "Without State Guaranty." 

Feel free to contact me if you are interested in purchasing this piece.  Questions, comments, and additional information are always appreciated.  My online shop on

Thank you to the following website(s) for the historical content of this blog post:

Wikipedia. Retrieved 5/23/2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filigree

Ebay. Retrieved 5/23/2011 from http://reviews.ebay.com/Depose-and-Deponiert-and-other-French-and-German-marks_W0QQugidZ10000000002158707http://www.rubylane.com/ is coming soon.