Essex Jewelry and Antiques

Incredible 18k White & Yellow Gold Leopard Panther Ying Yang Two Tone CuffLinks

$1,548.00

Presented is a pair of 18k white and yellow gold cuff links. The cuff links are in the form of two large cat heads, possibly panthers or leopards. The heads made out of yellow gold have diamonds for eyes, while the white gold heads have yellow gold eyes, for a 'ying yang' effect. The faces are highly detailed; all the facial features are quite clear. The toggle backs, which have hallmarks, are likely from another pair of cufflinks, and are made of 14k rose gold with Russian hallmarks, but we do not know if the cufflinks themselves are of Russian make. But the vast majority of the gold weight is in the top of the cufflinks, which are 18k.

The back toggles of the cufflinks are stamped with a Russian maker's mark as well as 583 indicating 14 karat gold. We have tested the heads of the cufflinks with nitric acid and guarantee them to be 18 karat gold. We believe these cufflinks were converted from a different style of back, or possibly both heads are originally one cufflink which has been split and had the backs added. Either way the backs are very likely not original, given the different karats of gold. Regardless, the backs function quite well for their purpose, and the majority of the gold weight is still in the 18 karat heads.

The cuff links are in great condition. The diamonds are securely set. There are no breaks, no splits, and no repairs.

The cuff links are approximately 1 inch long.

The cuff links weigh 15.9 grams, quite a bit of 18k gold weight.