When Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth's great-great grandmother, went into deep mourning for her dear husband, Albert, in 1861, she created quite the fashion for mourning jewelry, especially jewelry made of dark materials like black enamel, jet, gutta percha, and bog oak. Brooches in this style were often made of jet mined in England, but were also made in “French jet,” which is glass. This floral brooch is made of carved “French jet” with a matching black enameled stem.
The flower has a lovely satin finish to the petals which is offset by the highly reflective carved lines in each of the petals. The flower is mounted onto a 10k gold brooch backing that has lovely patina indicative of its age.
Specs: Not marked but tests 10ct gold and glass, 6 grams total. Measures 4cm long, from petal tip to stem tip, and 2.9 cm wide. The shops pin itself is not gold, but the rest of the mounting is.
Condition: Really beautiful antique condition with wonderfully preserved patina. No damage to the carving or enamel.
Condition: Excellent antique condition. Only one tiny area is missing enamel, but it isn't noticeable (I had to use my loupe to see it).
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Product code: Large 10k Gold Victorian French Jet and shops Enamel Mourning Brooch