Edwardian Turquoise Brooch
An Edwardian turquoise brooch brings delicate cluster work and bright robin-egg blue stones together in classic gold and silver settings.
Edwardian Turquoise Brooch
An edwardian turquoise brooch is a refined piece of early twentieth-century jewellery, most frequently encountered in the form of floral clusters, bows, hearts, and winged motifs. These pieces combine bright blue turquoise cabochons with lustrous seed pearls, set into rich yellow gold, rose gold, or silver-topped gold.
While the era is strictly defined, surviving pieces often blur the boundaries between late Victorian design and the arrival of Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts styles. Buyers will find everything from simple bar brooches with central turquoise drops to elaborate winged hearts and insect forms.
The selection ranges across several gold purities, including nine carat, fifteen carat, and eighteen carat variations, alongside silver and rolled gold examples. Alongside traditional brooches, convertible pendant brooches offer versatile ways to wear these antique gemstones.
How they were made
Goldsmiths utilised varied gold purities alongside silver, mounting stones into carefully shaped collets and claw settings that kept the soft turquoise secure. Seed pearls were meticulously threaded and pegged onto frames, often accentuating the central turquoise stones in floral or geometric arrangements.
Many finer pieces employed a silver top over gold technique to ensure diamonds and pearls caught the light with maximum brilliance, while the gold reverse provided structural strength. Guilloche enamel and coloured gemstones such as rubies occasionally joined the turquoise and pearls to add contrasting depth.
Several tiny winged bugs made a permanent home in these collections, proving Victorians loved their beetles as much as their bouquets.
What varies in quality
Quality rests heavily on the uniformity and natural colour of the turquoise stones, where an even robin-egg blue commands greater attention than stones altered by age or replacement. The delicacy of the goldwork and the precision of the seed pearl arrangement separate standard production from superior craftsmanship.
Higher tier pieces incorporate precious metals like fifteen or eighteen carat gold and platinum or silver top mounts, frequently pairing the turquoise with diamonds rather than relying solely on pearls. The integration of maker marks or registration numbers further distinguishes pieces produced by established workshops.
Henry Matthews·The Gaskins
The Edwardian Turquoise Brooch Glossary
- Cabochon
- A gemstone shaped and polished with a smooth, convex top rather than faceted. This cut preserves the natural opaque beauty of turquoise.
- Seed pearl
- A very small, naturally formed pearl, often half-drilled and glued or pegged onto tiny pins. They provide a delicate white border to turquoise clusters.
- Guilloche
- A decorative technique where a precise, intricate pattern is mechanically engraved into metal beneath a translucent layer of enamel. It appears on select enamelled brooches from the period.
- Collet
- A band of metal that holds a gemstone in place by folding over the girdle. It is a traditional stone-setting method seen across antique pins.
Edwardian Turquoise Brooch: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I spot a real Edwardian turquoise brooch?
Authentic pieces exhibit period-appropriate construction methods such as tubular pin stems, C-clasps or early safety catches, and solid gold or silver components rather than modern base metals. The turquoise stones should show natural matrix variations or consistent early twentieth-century cutting rather than uniform plastic or glass imitation.
Examination under a loupe reveals hand-beaten settings and individually placed seed pearls rather than modern mass-produced casting. Hallmarks stamped on the reverse often indicate the gold purity or the assay office, helping anchor the piece firmly in its period.
Were these brooches worn in other ways?
Many examples from this era were designed as convertible pendant brooches, featuring a hidden loop or fold-down bail on the reverse. This allowed the wearer to pin the item to a bodice during the day and suspend it from a chain for evening wear.
Other variations include collar pins, belt buckle attachments, and small chatelaine pieces designed to secure delicate garments. Such versatility was practical for the evolving fashions of the early nineteen hundreds.
What is a Suffragette brooch?
A Suffragette brooch typically incorporates the characteristic colour triad of green, white, and violet, representing give women freedom, or purple, white, and green for dignity, purity, and hope. In pieces featuring turquoise, the blue stones often substitute for green alongside seed pearls and amethysts or peridots.
These symbolic jewels were worn proudly by women supporting the movement during the Edwardian era. Surviving examples remain highly sought after by collectors interested in social history as well as antique design.