Are all pieces listed as Georgian actually from the period?

Not all of them. A minority of listings carry no Georgian date at all and are catalogued Victorian, Edwardian or 19th Century. The dealers' own dating field spreads from 1700 to 1950. The latest piece in the samples is a 1950 cluster ring catalogued as Georgian-style rather than Georgian.

What is black dot paste?

Paste stones with a dark spot painted or set at the culet, the point at the base of the stone. It mimics the depth you see down into a diamond. It is trade shorthand, used in nine titles on Sellingantiques and almost nowhere else.

How common is mourning jewellery in this category?

Under a tenth of listings. "Mourning" appears in 20 titles, hairwork in nine, and enamel, which often goes with them, in 21. Within that group, pieces carrying an inscribed date or name sit above the plain ones. Recorded examples include inscriptions dated 1817, 1832 and London 1831.

Which materials are scarce in Georgian jewellery?

Cut steel turns up only a few times: a star brooch, a flower wheel brooch, a bracelet of around 1780. Foreign origins are the other rarity. French Saint-Esprit and paste pieces, a Viennese enamel locket, a Swiss gold and enamel vinaigrette and Grand Tour lava and shell cameos appear once or twice each against an overwhelmingly English body of stock.

Do listings usually give the carat weight of stones?

Rarely. Only about one title in sixteen names a carat figure at all. The ones that do tend to be at the upper end, with weights such as 1.45ct, 6.75ct and, at the far end, a natural Ceylon sapphire of 25.30 carats.

How many Georgian pieces come up for sale?

Forty-nine dealers have listed in this category on Sellingantiques, and roughly thirty-seven pieces reach the market in a year. So it is broad but shallow. Most dealers carry only a handful at a time.

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Georgian Jewellery

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Small personal jewellery from the reigns of the Georges: rings, brooches, pendants and earrings set with paste, garnet, pearl or rose-cut diamond, worn for mourning, betrothal, sealing letters and evening dress.