What does 15ct gold tell you about a piece?

The 15ct standard was a British one, abolished in 1932 along with 12ct. A piece marked 15ct was made before then, which is why the mark carries weight in titles. It shows up in over three hundred listings on Sellingantiques. The samples also throw up 12ct, 10ct, 14ct, 19ct and 22ct.

Why are so many pieces dated only 'Victorian'?

Most of the archive carries no year at all. Around 1,561 listings are labelled simply 'Victorian' and a further 132 only '19th Century', so the reign does the dating. Where a clean year does appear, it usually comes from a hallmark, with an assay town quoted alongside. Those dated pieces bunch in the 1880s, 1890s and 1900s.

Which stones turn up most often?

Diamond leads by a distance, named in around a third of all titles, with old cut and rose cut both common descriptions. After that come pearl, ruby, sapphire and turquoise, then garnet, amethyst, opal and agate. Paste, meaning glass, appears in its own right at the lower end of the range.

What is Scottish pebble jewellery?

Silver brooches and bracelets inlaid with banded agates, jasper and cairngorm, cut and fitted like a mosaic. It forms a distinct seam within the category. Ninety titles say 'scottish' and a hundred and nineteen say 'agate'. Named sources such as Montrose agate and Peterhead granite appear, as do clan brooches.

Are Edwardian and later pieces sold under this heading?

They are. The surrounding labels Edwardian, 1910s and 1920s all appear, and the clean-date field runs from 1800 through to 1960. The late end is openly described revival work, such as 1950s 'Victorian Style' cluster rings and French dormeuses dated around 1960.

How wide is the choice in this category?

Around 365 pieces are listed a year, handled by 102 different dealers, which makes it one of the most widely carried categories on Sellingantiques. The spread runs from silver and paste brooches and rolled-gold watch chains at one end to weighed, origin-named gems in fitted cases at the other.

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Victorian Jewellery

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Personal jewellery from Queen Victoria's reign: gold rings set with diamonds, brooches and lockets, watch chains, earrings and silver Scottish agate work, worn every day or kept for dress.