Sold: A delightful Silver and Moonstone Brooch by Rhoda Wager

Rhoda Wager (1875 - 1953) was a London born jewellery designer who migrated to Fiji in in 1913, and then to Sydney in in 1918. She had studied art in Bristol, and then attended the School of Art, Glasgow from 1897 - 1903 where she studied the Arts & Crafts style, and also exhibited there. She opened premises in Martin Place, adjacent to the major hotels of the day, which supplied much of her clientele, then later moved to Market Street and then Victoria Arcade Chambers. Her jewellery was also sold on consignment by the Sydney department store, Farmer & Co. Where practical, her jewellery was clearly labelled with a silver plate soldered to the back, reading "WAGER" inside a rectangular frame.

She was soon able to employ an assistant Walter Clarence Clapham and in 1928 was joined by her niece Dorothy Wager, who did not sign her pieces.  Dorothy's designs followed closely those fo Rhoda's.

A review of her hand-wrought jewellery at the Dunster Galleries, Adelaide, in 1925, stated that her 'work is wrought from beginning to end. Each flower, stem and leaf or berry is made separately and soldered on bit by bit'. The 170 pieces exhibited included 'brooches with pearls, corals, black onyx and chalcedony; earrings of lapis lazuli and amethysts; chains and pendants of opals and turquoise'.

Rhoda Wagers best-known design was of trailing vines, leaves and tiny berries. She retired in 1946.

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