Signed Fred Leighton Collet Jewelry
Antique-style collet settings translated into wearable signed Fred Leighton jewels.
Prices are a snapshot from when this page was built — confirm on the retailer's site.
Story & heritage
Fred Leighton is rooted in antique jewelry: the business began in New York after Murray Mondschein bought a Greenwich Village shop in 1959, then built a vocabulary around Georgian, Victorian and Art Deco jewels. The signed collet pieces carry that language into contemporary production rather than presenting a single estate object.
The official product pages describe cushion amethysts and topaz mounted in antique-style collets of silver topped 18 karat yellow gold. The diamond version uses the Fred Leighton Round, a proprietary cut based on the old European diamonds that dominated from 1890 to 1930.
Materials & craft
The defining construction is silver over gold: a white metal face brightens the stone, while yellow gold backs the setting. Fred Leighton explains that this two-metal technique dates to the late 1700s, before platinum and white gold became standard choices for diamond jewelry.
How to choose & style
Choose the small colored-stone pendant or drops for daily wear, then move to diamond collets when the outfit needs candlelight sparkle. The charm is in the old-world setting, so they work best with simple necklines, silk shirts and tailoring rather than competing ornament.
