A selection of my collection

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Here''s a picture of the clasps I referred to. I notice now these are gold rather than natural materials.

According to the blurb, these were popular in 1830-40, and often associated with gold longchains...

 

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Wow, I love those! They''re fantastic. Now you''ve given me something else to look for.

I once passed up a chance to buy a Georgian eye brooch. It was beautiful, but the seller was asking $500, and I didn''t have a job at the time, so I couldn''t justify it. I''ve regretted it ever since--you never see them, and certainly not for as little as $500.

 

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I thought I''d post a closer view of my hand pins. Here''s the ivory or bone one. i would love to know what that baton symbolized. You just know it had to symbolize something--those Victorians were mad for symbols.

 

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Here's a mother-of-pearl one with a brass cuff with traces of gold still on it and a little glass "turquoise" ring.

 

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And a second mother of pearl one. I imagine this probably had gold-filled wire in the grooves as trim, but it''s gone now.

 

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Wow....those closeups are amazing!!

I think a couple of those should be included in Platinumsmith''s "Technically Perfect Jewels" thread!

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[thebanjodog]

you have so peaked my interest in what the baton in the hand could mean. do you think it might be a scroll or certificate? i read somewhere about a hand pin with a rolling pin but haven''t seen one.

your things are so pretty and interesting i hope you continue to show them to us.

thanks. banjo

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Interesting, wonderful collection! Feel free to share more...anytime....

cheers--Sharon

 

[glitterata]

Hm, I wonder about the scroll. It''s an interesting thought, but I would think it would have a more spiral look if it was meant to be a scroll. It''s just a plain gold-filled stick. The person who sold me that pin said it was a suffragist symbol of some sort, but when I asked a suffrage expert she didn''t think so.

Somebody told me the pointing fingers were meant to point to heaven, but I don''t know whether to believe that either.

I wish I could go back in time and ask a Victorian lady (or a Victorian jeweler).