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Nova gem, one available in the sapphire blue color, and
One pinback with a multicolor disintegrating colored ribbon, lightly taped by a prior owner to hold the ribbon and pinback together barely
Both items are generally clean and in good condition!!
From the Pan Pacific expo of 1915 San Francisco Tower of gems
The novagem is tightly clasp in its hanger
It has one tiny and one larger chip
My understanding is as they hung, the wind blowing, the gems would clink each other or the surrounding building and most if not all of the gems have a bit of chipping
This gem is in its holder, the holder does not have any mirroring or labeling beyond the words patents pending on the top of the hanger
This item and the pinback for a participant to wear on opening day at the fair; I feel are not an easy find because the tower of jewels on which these hung were meant to be a temporary installation
And the gems were sold off as soon as the tower sadly was dismantled
My understanding is there originally were near to 102,000 gems created
I believe my gem is an early one because it says patents pending and nothing else
A friend has a gem holder without a gem, has only the words novagem in a diamond stamped on it, no patents pending words anywhere.
Hers also has the hang tag saying it was on the tower of gems
They sold them after the tower was demolished individually
And many are held in private collections to this day
Some sites refer to them as Austrian glass, some say Bohemian glass
They have a decent weight and are well made, kinda magical little gems and a piece of San Francisco history
Please refer to the photos as part of the description
From a smokefree, not petfree home
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you!!
