Victorian Brooch
£350.00
A beautiful example of a Victorian brooch, set with bright blue sapphire and an old cut diamond. Hallmarked as 15ct gold in Chester, 1898. Rich with beautiful details inspired by the Etruscan Revival style.
15ct was discontinued as a standard for gold in 1932. Before that it was commonly used in jewellery, and indicated that the alloy contained 62.5% pure gold.
The Chester Assay office closed in 1962, so no modern jewellery has a Chester hallmark. There are now just four Assay offices in the uk; London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Glasgow. Every piece of jewellery beyond a certain weight is send to the the be tested for purity and stamped or lased engraved with a hallmark.