Product Description

This one was made by hand, in another century, by a goldsmith who raised every curve of it himself. Bold C-scrolls rise and sweep across the face of the brooch, catching light from every angle the way only hand-chased repoussé gold can. At the center, a navette-shaped cluster of rose-cut garnets glows like banked embers — deep wine-red with the particular inner fire that only the old rose cut produces. Two further garnets sit tucked into the scrollwork on either side, echoing the center and pulling the eye out across the full reach of the design. Pierced openwork at the top and base lets light move through the gold itself, a detail no casting process can fake. Circa 1860-1880, this brooch has come through more than a century and a half whole: every stone still seated, the C-catch pin still doing its job, the gold carrying the soft, lived-in glow that only genuine age leaves behind. At 3.5 grams and roughly 1" x 1⅝" (2.5 x 4.25 cm), it punches well above its actual size — pin it to a lapel, a wrap collar, or a scarf where the scrollwork has room to unfurl. Solid gold, hand-worked, this much period detail still intact — pieces like this don't sit in inventory long, and they don't turn up twice.