With our Australia Jewels: Mother's Day online auction open for bidding until 5 May, specialist Mariel Olenski handpicks five of her favourite lots for under AU$500, fit for the perfect Mother's Day gifts. You can register to bid online, in person or on the Bonhams app.

Lot 14

 Hardstone Cameo Pendant/Brooch

What better way to acknowledge Mother’s Day than to immortalise a portrait of a woman on a glorious pendant? Delicately carved into hardstone, there is something truly timeless about a beautiful cameo, especially one that is as well preserved as this. The added bonus here is that this particular piece has a pin attached to the back, so it can be worn as a pendant or a brooch.

Cameos have been used for a variety of purposes throughout history. In ancient times, they were often used as seals or currency. During the Renaissance, cameos became popular as signet rings. Today, many people wear cameo jewellery simply because they enjoy its beauty. Happily, folklore relates cameos' mystic capacity to attract health and good fortune.

Lot 19

 18ct Gold and Diamond Earrings

These stunning earrings are handmade pieces of ingenuity. Made by a formidable local jeweller, they evoke minimalism and architecture with their imaginative geometric shapes. The diamonds are evidentially high quality and—with every head turn or hair flick—they glint and glitter like dancing sparkles. Somewhere between a cuff, a ‘huggie’ and a drop, these earrings make a fashionable statement alone or stacked with other earrings. Fine jewellery personified.

Lot 50

Unmounted Ruby

This unmounted cushion-shaped ruby is a generous 11.00 carats and would make an astonishing principal stone once mounted as a pendant, necklace or a ring. Besides its generous size, it boasts an impressive saturation of colour. This is a wonderful gift either as a talisman or for a future bespoke piece.

Lot 48

Paolo Costagli Topaz and Diamond Ring

This signed Paolo Costagli ring boasts a sizeable white topaz of a hexagonal shape and is flanked by diamonds on the shoulders of the shank. Paolo Costagli is a renowned New York-based Italian jewellery designer who derives his gemstones from his varied and kaleidoscopic gem inventory. Known as a designer who uses incredibly rare, uniquely coloured and shaped gems, this particular item is of a more subdued aesthetic, but is uncompromisingly distinctive in its design and very wearable. An impressive piece not only for a mother, but for all women.

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Lot 35

Jadeite and Diamond Pendant/Brooch

This heart-shaped carved jadeite is set within a border of diamonds and can be worn either as a brooch or a pendant. In Chinese tradition, the ideographic ‘Fu’ symbol means ‘fortune’ or ‘good luck’ and is a character that is found in abundance within the Chinese culture. Not only is the meaning of this piece auspicious, but ornamentally is a stunning piece of jewellery with its deep, rich jadeite colour and texture.

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