The Scottish pebble brooch in gold

Scottish style gold brooch in the shape of a ribbon with a buckle, decorated with agate and jasper inlay and the most beautiful detailed hand engraved patterns to the gold. The inlay is made with beautiful stones in an array of muted red and green colours.

Designed as a multi-coloured ribbon, with framwork and buckle in hand engraved 9 carat gold. Made ca 1880. Smooth backside, with a needle in white metal. Closes with a c-clasp. Measures 27 mm high and weighs 4,3 g.

In very good antique condition. General wear in keeping with age and use, with minor wear and rubbing to the stones and a couple of small chip at the edge of gemstones. There were originally a safety chain attached to the tiny loop on the back, it has been removed or lost.

This kind of jewellery became immensely popular after Queen Victoria purchased Balmoral castle in the mid 19th century, and began to spend her summers in Scotland. It is called "pebble jewellery" and most pieces were made in silver. At first they would be set with stones sourced locally, but as the demand for the style grew, a wider range of gemstones would be imported and set into Scottish style jewellery. Stones often used would be of the quartz family, such as ameythysts, citrines and cairngorms, or translucent stones like carnelian and chalcedony, and of course opaque stones in the form of different types of agates and jaspers. Later in the 19th century malachite mined in Siberia became very popular. In this brooch you find mostly different variations of jasper and agate.

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