A Victorian ‘Scottish’ silver and agate brooch, constructed of eight pieces of agate (4 banded agate, 2 Jasper with a green colour and two a light brown) fitted inside a silver mount and backed with slate. The brooch is in excellent condition with just one of the brown agates having a small crack on one edge. The backing slate is complete and undamaged and the brooch has its original long pin which extends beyond the edge of the brooch. The silver is unmarked but tests as silver and there are no makers marks on the piece.The brooch is 57mm in diameter and weighs 28g.
Scottish Agate jewellery became very popular in the 19th century, a trend that accelerated when Queen Victoria bought the Balmoral Estate in 1852. In fact the trend for ‘Scottish’ jewellery was so strong that makers in Birmingham, London and Exeter were all making ‘Scottish’ Jewellery. So much was made that by the latter part of the 19th century it was hard to find Scottish agate, with many of the mines having been worked out and jewellers’ began to import agate and also to add other stones to their pieces (citrine was quite common). What we do know is that makers in Glasgow and Edinburgh rarely signed their pieces while those making ‘Scottish’ jewellery south of the border did. Scottish jewellery was made over a fairly long period making dating it quite difficult. If pushed I’d date this fairly early in the second half of the 19th century because of the type of agates used, the long pin and the fact that its unsigned, but it could be a little later.
