How to clean antique paste brooches?

Keep paste jewellery well away from water. The stones sit over coloured metal foil that ruins if moisture seeps behind the glass. Use a dry bristle brush to clear dust from the gallery.

I inherited a heavy gold brooch from my grandmother and it has a very dark tarnish in all the crevices, should I polish this out?

Leave the dark areas exactly as they are. That surface oxidisation is known as patina, and it takes decades to build up naturally within the recessed areas of the metalwork. Patina provides visual depth and highlights the engraved details on a piece. Aggressively polishing a textured antique brooch flat and bright often strips away its character.

What does 9ct back and front mean?

This stamp turns up frequently on late Victorian and Edwardian lockets and brooches. It indicates that the main front and back panels are made of solid nine-carat gold. The internal strengthening cores are made from a base metal to provide rigidity. This method gave the piece the durability required for daily wear while keeping the outward appearance of solid gold.

My silver brooch has a very long pin that sticks out quite a bit past the edge of the silver, is this normal?

Extended pins are entirely standard for nineteenth-century pieces. Before the invention of modern safety catches, a longer pin resting in a deep C-clasp was the primary way to stop heavy jewellery from falling off. The pin had to gather up a thick bunch of dense Victorian fabric to hold the weight of the metal. If you find an early antique brooch with a short pin, it usually means a later repair.

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Art Nouveau Brooches

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Pinned to heavy garments, an antique brooch is a decorative piece of jewellery designed to secure fabric or adorn the wearer, ranging from simple gold mourning pins to elaborate diamond-set floral sprays.