Cross pendant Silver Natural gemstone

Splendid and exceptional book-opening reliquary pectoral cross, an authentic sacred and devotional goldsmithing artifact dating to the late 18th century (the full 1700s), ideally placed between 1740 and 1780.
• Unlike cheaper models made from separate fragments, this cross is crafted from only two unique monoblock blocks of rock crystal, carved and mirror-polished into the shape of a cross (one front panel and one back panel). The crystals enclose the internal housing originally intended for the reliquaries.
• The outer perimeter frame is entirely made of solid silver heavily gold-plated by fire (Vermeil). The sides and ends feature refined Baroque ornamental motifs in filigree scrolls and volutes. At the top there is the original torqued-through through-ring with a carrying loop.
• The cross has a perfectly intact central book hinge, solid and functional, allowing the two panels to open. Internally there are fascinating residues of the aged resin-based mastic used for liturgical sealing of the reliquary. At present the internal housing is empty.
The cross is magnificently completed by its original case, custom-made for the late 19th / early 20th century, shaped in velvet and silk. The white silk lining bears the personalized inscription: "Di Primio Giuseppe - Gioielleria Cignone". This is the historic and prestigious Cignone watchmaking and jewelry house of Turin, founded in 1876.
As is customary for the original structure designed to hold reliquaries, once the book-opening cross is opened, the crystal block is free to lift from its metal housing due to the natural drying of the ancient seventeenth/eighteenth-century adhesive (no breakage, it is its original mechanism). Beautiful patina of time on the silver and the gilding, never subjected to aggressive chemical cleaning.