Hello dear Members! Today I bought this brooch and the seller told me that is is from 30s-40s. The mother of pearl is natural (not an imitation) and the pin is obviously not original, as it differs in metal colour and it is visible the place of adhesion. At the back of one of the mother of pearls the protective metal plate is still in place (missing from another two). I tried to make some research for better understanding of when, where and probably by whom the brooch could be made. And I found some pieces (bracelet and necklace) that have similar mother of pearl and cut steel inserts (which I first thought were marcasites). I've read that such jewellery is a "Coque de Perle" cut steel items from Georgian Period (the examples I found were dated back to 1800-1840). I would like to know if my brooch is from the same period, or it was made later in the same stylistic. I would be thankful for any opinions
That back, with the tube hinge, long pin and clasp, is much earlier than the thirties or forties. It could well be mid nineteenth or thereabouts.
Never seen a pin with cut steel and shell like that, if I saw it I would be all over it! Agree, 19th century
Great find, nastina. Yes to coque de perle with cut steel, early 19th century. Looks like the pin and tube hinge are a later replacement. Those are vulnerable parts which are often replaced. The C-clasp looks original. Coque de perle was cut from nautilus shell to imitate valuable real natural pearls. Nautilus shell is more lustrous than most other MOP. With coque de perle the middle classes could also afford 'pearl' jewellery. It was often combined with cut steel, but it can also be found mounted in gold, which shows how much it was appreciated. 1830s maybe.
You're absolutely right Any, tube hinge & pin were replaced, as metal is different and I can see place of the tube hinge attachment is more rough, however it looks like someone who was making this replacement tried to handle it with care. I've read that this type of jewellery is rare, due to fragile coque de perle and metals that were often used for production (in my case I guess the frame is made in brass or tin, basing on the colour), and not many pieces came to our days undamaged. I think that if the seller knew it's real age, he would add one more 0 to the price
Yes, the coques were often filled to strengthen them. After all, it is just a few thin layers of shell. Yours aren't filled, never were, so it is a miracle that they survived. The frame looks brass, which was often used.
Any, one more question: these pieces were made particularly in one area, or it was something popular all over the Europe?
I'm not sure, but I think this specific style with large pieces of coque de perle was Western European. I have seen smaller pieces of coque de perle on German and Austro-Hungarian jewellery.
Thank you very much Any for all the information! The more I study this topic, the more I'm coming to a thought that I might want to make a valuation of this piece
Ha! Nothing to add to what AJ said, except you have a piece in fantastic condition! Usually cut steel pieces this old show rust and yours is still bright I never got coque de perle in hand, you were very lucky to encountered this, plus a seller who had the date so wrong
Thank you Kyratango! The condition is really excellent, I think it could be cleaned from a layer of old dust, but I won't touch it by myself, only if it's done by a professional. I think if it's well cleaned it would have even more lustre. It's funny, that I actually saw this brooch first time around 10 days ago, and when I came back this weekend I was sure that it would be sold already. So when I saw it's still there, I thought that it's a sign that I should get it
You can clean it safely with a very soft tooth brush sprayed with windows cleaner, then dry thoroughly with a hair dryer. if you need the steel polished, a jeweler used to antique jewellery is the best (I polish my rusted cut steel with a 4 faces nail gel file after using a brass wire brush)
