Vintage and Antique Scottish agate jewellery info guide

A brief history

Agate jewellery has been produced in Scotland for hundreds of years, though it was Queen Victoria’s love affair with all things Scottish (culminating in the purchase of Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire around the 1850s) which propelled this distinctive type of jewellery to public view. Back in the 19th Century, the aristocracy were a major influence on fashion, and soon people began following the Queen style, which included wearing Scottish jewellery. Popular designs were ‘plaid’ brooches (ie agates laid together in a kind of mosaic), and carved agates set into silver bracelets, complete with carved agate buckles, heart clasps and charms.

 

ABOVE: An antique Scottish agate dirk pin, with Scottish amethyst gemstone detail.

 

Queen Victoria’s death in 1901 signaled a general decline in the popularity of Scottish agate jewellery. However, it became fashionable once again in the 1950s – 1970s when the old Scottish designs were re-created in bold costume jewellery, which used cheaper glass instead of real agates. Famous companies who made this type of jewellery include Miracle, Jacobite and Jem. By the later 20th Century, the beauty of genuine old antique Scottish jewellery was being quietly being rediscovered. Nowadays it is incredible sought after, and antique Scottish agate work can command high prices.

 

What Is Scottish Agate Jewellery?

The beautiful country of Scotland is home to an amazing array of chalcedony quartz gemstone, also known as agate, which comes in a huge variety of colours and patterns. It was this quality that attracted the skilled craftsmen of the ancient past to experiment with slicing and placing them together to form colourful mosaic patterns. This agate work was then set into metal (usually solid silver, though occasionally solid gold too). The best antique Scottish jewellery often shows different slices of agate which have been slotted, plaided and polished together into patterns to almost form one stone – some jewellery even resembled multi-coloured tartan patterns.
When it came to wearing Scottish agates, it was the brooches which were the most commonly worn as they were both beautiful and functional, holding those heavy Victorian garments, capes and kilts in place. Bracelets, earrings and rings were slightly more unusual. Occasionally Scottish agate necklaces were made, though these are rare and generally only seen in museums or specialist collections.

ABOVE: This circa 1870s brooch is a fine example of old Victorian Scottish agate jewellery. Note the flush setting, and high polish finish. Each of these agates came from a different part of Scotland.

ABOVE: A simple Victorian Scottish Agate jewellery ‘slab agate’ brooch, so call named as it is made from only one solid piece of agate. Also, notice the metalwork patterns – Victorians used fine scroll work on their jewellery, not Celtic knotwork patterns.

 

Jewellery symbolism played an important part of Victorian life. Certain motifs were popular, such as horseshoes, anchors, axes, flowers, thistles, daggers, shields and knots. Buckle motifs were especially loved by the Victorians, and jewellery which displays a buckle piece in its design is still sought after today. Occasionally you’ll see household objects such as kettles, or musical instruments like harps and violins, as canny Victorian jewelers sought to tap into more sentimental designs.

 

ABOVE: Buckle motifs were popular in the Victorian era. This fine example of Scottish agate jewellery dates from circa 1870s, and the buckle is even movable.

It’s the simple beauty, variety of designs, exquisite workmanship and of course the amazing colours of Scottish jewellery which makes it so desirable. It’s still made today, though in general it tends to be quite different from its ancestors, with greater emphasis on modern metal-work Celtic knot-work patterns rather than creating a mosaic of agate stones.

 

ABOVE: A 20th Century reproduction Scottish jewellery brooch, made with real Scottish agates and a centre citrine quartz gemstone. A quick note – antique and vintage ‘Scottish’ agate jewellery wasn’t always actually made in Scotland. England was a producer too, and the silver work was often assayed in Chester and Birmingham. A lot of genuinely Scottish made jewellery was not assayed at all.

Scottish Costume Jewellery Reproductions

As with most fine antique jewellery, you will come across modern and more affordable takes on this old genre. The skill that was involved in creating the real Victorian Scottish agate work was huge, so nowadays it’s too time consuming to recreate accurately. Therefore modern ‘Scottish–inspired’ jewelry is quite easy to spot with a little practice. Collecting Scottish costume jewellery is a hobby in it’s own right.

ABOVE: A reproduction Scottish style glass agate brooch, signed Miracle. This jewellery design company specializes in reproduction Scottish agate jewellery, and has a dazzling array of beautiful designs. Even though most Miracle jewellery is classed as costume jewellery, it is collected throughout the world.

 

The most common indication of a modern reproduction is glass being used instead of agate. This can be difficult to identify at first, because they both are hard, cold materials. However, the modern stones tend to be set into much chunkier metal than agates, and the metal work will often show crude patterns. A good magnifying glass or jewelers loupe is a must – agates often have bits of natural surface wear and some can be slightly matte, while glass is usually ice smooth and more reflective.

Collecting modern Scottish inspired costume jewellery is a popular hobby in itself, but occasionally even second-hand jewellery sellers and antique dealers can’t seem to tell the difference between the modern costume jewellery copies and genuine antique agate work! Always ask sellers friendly questions before you buy if you’re unsure of a piece, and make sure they accept returns if you are unhappy with your purchase.

ABOVE: A modern reproduction Celtic style ring, with purple glass imitation agate. Notice how the metal work is the focus of the jewellery, not the stone. In genuine antique Scottish jewellery it is the other way round – the focus is on the stone work, not the metal.

ABOVE: A modern (circa 1980s) Scottish Celtic bracelet, with glass imitation agates. Compare this bracelet, and the above ring with the Victorian brooches. Notice how the patterns and scroll work are chunkier and more crude in modern items – this helps when trying to date Scottish jewellery.

 

Buying tips for Scottish all types of jewellery (modern and antique):

 

~Signatures: Costume jewellery from the 1950s onwards often had company name stamps (aka ‘signatures’) on them. These signatures can be hard to find at first – study the back carefully with a magnifying glass, and if you see words such as ‘Miracle’…’Jem’….’Jewelcraft’….’Hollywood’ you have a mid to late 20th Century Scottish inspired costume jewellery piece.

The back of a modern (circa 1970s) glass stone Scottish costume jewellery brooch. It is signed/ stamped ‘Jacobite’, meaning it was made by the company of that name.

~Workmanship: Modern Scottish brooches tend to have ‘chunky’ metal frames (almost always with crude engravings or thick Celtic patterns), thick prongs, and chunky raised ‘stones’. Antique Scottish jewellery usually has superb fine workmanship, flush flat stones,exquisite prong settings and occasionally delicate engraved Victorian scroll work on the metal (but no Celtic patterns).

~ Condition Condition Condition: In all cases, these should be no stones missing – these are almost impossible to replace. Also avoid cracked and badly chipped stones, unless you are genuinely in love with the piece of jewellery. Tiny nibbles (also called ‘flea bites’) to the stones are generally acceptable in antique jewellery. Check all clasps work, and there is no rust, verdigris or damage to the metal work.

The pin has broken off this old antique Scottish agate brooch – fixing it is very difficult unless your a proper jeweler.

~Does it have a two-tone mix of coral red and green malachite style stones? Watch out – I’ve witnessed some well known antiques dealers fall for this one! You may occasionally come across some Scottish style brooches which at first look to be genuine antiques – usually round brooches, or occasionally 3-leaf clovers or a horseshoe. However they are not old – they are modern mid to late 20th Century reproductions. These brooches are set into solid silver (stamped plain ‘925’), closed at the back (ie full silver backdrops rather than open or slate backed), and have small ‘agate’ tiles of malachite and coral red. But these stones are not agates – they are very good glass copies.

~ Other tips: A good way to identify these modern reproductions is that they usually have roll over clasps rather than the old ‘c’ style clasp (you can learn more about dating brooches by their clasp type in my Five Tips For Vintage Dating Brooches guide.)

 

Looking after your antique Scottish Agate Jewellery

A simple and very occasional light clean in mild soapy water is all you need to do to keep you jewellery clean and bright. Dry immediately and very thoroughly so the water doesn’t affect any cement which may be holding in the agates .

 

 

 

Beginner’s Guide and Info On Antique Victorian Mourning Jewellery

 

One of the most fascinating areas of vintage jewellery is the genre known as mourning jewellery. When Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert died at the early age 42, she was consumed with grief for many years. One of the ways she expressed this was to wear tokens of her mourning in the shape of jewellery. Whilst ‘mourning jewellery’ has been around for hundreds of years, it was the influential Queen Victoria who started the mourning fashion craze, which quickly spread amongst the masses. It was to last until her own death 40 years later.

An example of a Victorian mourning brooch, made from coral and intricately woven human hair.

What is mourning jewellery?

In times gone by, many people died at a young age because of poor diet and unhygienic lifestyles. Deadly disease was rife, and child birth was a major risk which put both mother and baby in life-threatening danger; death played a sad yet normal part of every day life. For the status obsessed and crushingly polite 19th century Victorians, mourning jewellery was a clever way of showing people what your status was (eg newly widowed or just lost a child) without the potential embarrassment of telling them. It was also worn as a sentimental reminder of the person who’d actually passed away.

The secret Language of Flowers, and hidden symbolism in Victorian mourning jewellery

The Victorians had strict codes of behavior and etiquette. Even expressing a personal feeling was often considered rude, so when someone needed to convey a message, they did so using silent symbolism, which involved giving gifts which symbolized words. For example, floral bouquets called ‘Tussie Mussie’s’ were popular during this period; they worked by letting the sender spell out a whole sentence in flowers to a desired recipient (eg bell flowers meant “thinking of you“). Jewellery was often given for the same reason too – forget-me-not flower jewellery was especially popular as it meant ‘true love’.

A 19th Century Victorian mourning flower brooch made from Vulcanite, which is a type of rubber material. The types of flowers shown here would have had great meaning to the original owner.

Materials used to make mourning jewellery

Natural Whitby jet from Yorkshire was one of the most sought after materials for mourning jewellery due to the natural high quality finish which could be achieved. However, it quickly became scarce and expensive due to demand, so ‘fake’ jets such as black glass (romantically called French Jet) became a cheaper alternative, as did dyed black horn, early rubber-type materials (such as Vulcanite), and bog oak from Ireland.

The Victorian era was a period of immense change and fast moving innovation. Up until the 19th Century, jewellery was individually hand made, usually with precious metals, fine enamels, gemstones and glass (a.k.a ‘paste’ which was an expensive luxury), and was generally the preserve of the rich upper classes. Mourning jewellery was one of the first type of jewellery that was mass produced in large numbers, and was so low priced it could be worn by the general population, not just the aristocracy.

ABOVE: This antique Victorian pendant is made from a Vulcanite base, while the grapes are made from French Jet, which is a fancy term for black glass.

A spectacular large antique Victorian Vulcanite leaf brooch

A hand carved antique Victorian Whitby jet mourning brooch.

A 19th Century antique Victorian Whitby Jet mourning necklace, made from faceted beads. Whitby Jet was believed to be the finest of all the jet gemstones, and was prized by the Victorians. It is still highly desirable today.

An antique Victorian mourning necklace, made from French Jet – a fancy name for black glass. Real jet gemstone jewellery was expensive – French Jet was an affordable alternative for Victorian fashion lovers.

 

ABOVE: a black enamel and woven hair antique Victorian mourning brooch, made from two tones of human hair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A black enamel and blond woven human hair antique Victorian mourning brooch. This is a basic example of Victorian hair weaving – the more elaborate examples are breathtaking in their creation and impossibly intricate weaving.

Horses were highly prized in Victorian times, and this antique Victorian pocket watch chain has been woven with the hair tail of a much loved horse. This is the only type of mourning jewellery that is still popular today,with many companies still specializing in sentimental horse hair jewellery.

A Victorian Whitby jet mourning bracelet in excellent condition; it looks and feels as new today as it did when it was first made over 120 years ago.

You can learn how to identify jewellery materials such as Vulcanite and Whitby Jet in this blog post.

Collecting mourning jewellery

Original jewellery from the Victorian period was made to last, and can still be found quite easily today. Vulcanite, horn, Whitby Jet and bog oak brooches are common, though necklaces, rings and bracelets are rare and command much higher prices. The most sought after antique mourning jewellery is made from enameled precious metals and includes impossibly intricate hair weaving.

Finally, a type of jewellery called ‘Memento Mori’ (which is Latin for ‘Remember you will die’), at first looks quite similar to mourning jewellery. However, it dates back to around the 1600s, and was slightly different in that it was generally worn as a reminder of one’s own mortality and fleeting time on earth, rather than an actual mourning trinket of someone else’s death. You can recognize antique Memento Mori items straight away due to their disturbing imagery, which includes brooches depicting miniature paintings of coffins, rings set with tiny carved skulls instead of gemstones, and even pictures of rotting corpses on bracelets.