Featured Huge antique brooch or belt buckle?

Hello again,
Every once in a while I buy something unusual, this purchase being one of them. It was not expensive, but the design is what attracted me.
I wonder if anyone can tell me something about it.
The metal looks copper in colour, did not test it. its heavy and approximately 10 centimetres.
It looks like a brooch, but I have seen some similar models online as belt buckles.
Any thoughts she, design, materials or stones ?
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Simona

 

I don’t really know jewellery but if my guess is worth anything I would say potentially Celtic… it might help the experts on here if you list what type of things are on there for example I can see flowers but not sure if the other little bits are actually things if that makes sense?

 

Looks like it started life as a belt buckle.

Debora

 

I agree, it looks like it was originally a belt buckle, and it is beautiful. Historic Revival, a mishmash of historic styles, mostly Gothic I think.
The brooch back looks ca 1900 imo, it would have been added later.

It looks yellowish on the photo, and I see some remains of gilding on the back. Gilded brass originally?

 

Very beautiful! I love things like this. Are they real pearls?

 

It's a bit aesthetic revival to my eye. Although, see also, Burne Jones.

 

That is beautiful. Three marriages? The square top from the back looks as if it’s covering part of the design of the large piece. IMO or guess the pearls look natural. The emerald color stones and rosy stones would not surprise me if they are natural also. Emerald? Rhodolite? Ruby? One rosy stone is whiteish in its setting. Maybe it was heated when the current pin mechanism was added. Or just dirt or glue? I agree it’s a mishmash of styles. Bell flowers are so pretty. The whole piece is. So hard to see the back for any more clues. The square has a Persian feel. But that’s a guess. I would think in the common use of a belt buckle there would be surface wear to at least the pearls. Can u see any? Please do update if u find more info. Could it be a breast ornament attached to chain and others like the Royals wear?

 

Yes, the pearls are real.

 

Thank you so much for the response. The pearls are real, with very little ware, it must have been kept really well.
The stones,on let’s say buckle, are purple and green looking like amethyst and emerald, the one is centre is dark red looking like garnet, but if hold in the light it changes colour to almost pink.
I now can see some gold guild @Any Jewelry, you are right.
Thank you all, if you like more photos, please let me know.
Xx

 

that is very pretty!

 

Very beautiful - so much detail when you enlarge it even further. I do have a question: Why does it appear to some that it started out as a belt buckle?

 

You can see where the buckle hardware was cut off along the center line.

 

Oh yes, I saw that. But I got confused by the front centerpiece being entirely whole. So it must have been attached to one side only.

 

Correct, it would have been one sided. I've seen other conversions.

 

I think it would have been in two halves, like a nurse's buckle.
The central diamond shape with the pearls would have been attached to one side only, and it would have hidden the centre where the two halves meet.

On the detail of Simona's photo, below, the hook was originally attached to the left half, where you see one long stripe, the loop to the right half, where you see the two pads:



Like the back of this nurse's buckle, except the hook on Simona's former buckle would have been one solid piece:



I hope this makes sense.

 

@Any Jewelry - Yes, that makes perfect sense. Thank you for the thorough explanation!

 

You're welcome, @Jaena .