Most collectors naturally look at the front of a piece first.
But sometimes the back tells a story of its own.
DeLizza & Elster used colored enamel on the backs of at least two very different Juliana designs I have documented. These are not simply gold-tone, gunmetal or japanned finishes. In both designs, portions of the actual construction were given a colored enamel coating.
One Design in Three Very Different Colors
The first is an unusual geometric design I originally wrote about many years ago.
Examples have been found with pink, blue and brown enamel backs, with coordinating stones on the fronts.
The design combines baguettes, navettes and chatons in a pattern collectors sometimes describe as having a Deco look—although the jewelry itself is not from the Art Deco period.
What makes these pieces especially interesting is what happens when you turn them over.
The colored enamel covers portions of the cast design, while the surrounding construction remains plated metal.
From the front, the enamel becomes much less obvious, but it still contributes to the overall color of the jewelry.
Whether that was specifically intended as part of the front-facing effect is difficult to know, but it certainly adds another dimension to the design.
A Very Different Enamel-Back Design
Here, a large cast openwork component forms much of the structure behind the center of the piece, and that section is coated in colored enamel.
The full parure shown here is particularly useful because the treatment appears throughout the set rather than on one isolated brooch.
The necklace, bracelet, brooch and earrings all use the same basic enamel-backed construction.
Around the colored cast sections, the rhinestone settings and other structural elements remain gold tone, making the contrast especially easy to see from the reverse.
The Same Design, Different Colors
This second design has also been found with different enamel colors.
Among the examples I have documented are blue, brown, green and red/cranberry enamel backs.
That is not meant as a complete list.
Other colors may certainly exist.
What is especially interesting is that the color changes, while the basic construction remains the same.
Why the Back Matters
These pieces are a good reminder of why collectors should always look at both sides of Juliana jewelry.
The front shows us the rhinestones, cabochons and overall design.
The back can show us how the piece was built, which portions were cast, how the components were joined and, in these examples, how color became part of the construction itself.
So far, these are the two enamel-backed Juliana designs I have documented.
That does not mean they were the only ones DeLizza & Elster made.
It simply means these are the two we can currently show and compare.
And sometimes, one of the most interesting details in a piece of Juliana jewelry is found on the side most people never see.