Cats: A pair of gold-mounted 'Essex crystal' cufflinks, probably English, circa 1900

each of cabochon-cut rock crystal, the bases carved and reverse painted, one with a tuxedo cat, the other a grey tabby, beaded gold borders, unmarked 

The technique of reverse-painting onto rock crystal is thought to have been invented either by the Belgian, Pradier, or by an Englishman called Cooke, who started using the process in 1862, although traditionally ascribed to the miniature painter William Essex.  Three such objects appear in The Jewel Album of Tsar Nicholas II, all gifts from members of the British Royal Family (see A. von Solodkoff, 1997, p. 70).