For over 80 years and spanning three generations of family ownership, Kentshire Galleries has been one of the foremost dealers of fine antique and period jewelry, and objets d’art. As the third generation of the family to lead Kentshire, Carrie Imberman and her brother, Matthew, joined continue to refine the gallery’s founding vision: buying and selling outstanding jewelry and objects of enduring design and elegance.
An Art Deco cherry blossom corsage brooch comprised of carved rose quartz flowers with nephrite leaves and gold and diamond embellishment, in 18k gold. A.E. Köchert, Vienna, Austro-Hungary. French import marks. Atw diamonds .50 ct.
The house of A.E. Köchert began as a goldsmiths' workshop that was set up in Vienna by the Frenchman Emanuel Pioté. In 1819, he hired Jakob Heinrich Köchert, a native of Latvia who had served as a jewelry apprentice in St. Petersburg. Köchert married Pioté's sister-in-law and eventually became a business partner. The firm received the coveted honor of being the jeweler to the Austrian imperial court in 1832. One of their most well-known royal commissions is the set of diamond and pearl star ornaments ordered by Empress Elisabeth (Sisi), some of which she famously wore in her hair in Franz Xaver Winterhalter's 1865 portrait of her. Alexander Emanuel Köchert, Jakob's son, joined the company in 1844 and became a business partner upon Pioté's retirement. The jewelry house continues to be owned and managed by the Köchert family.
