Victorian 15KT gold stick pin modelled as a crescent moon set with natural blue sapphires and old cut diamonds alternating along the curve, 1880s.
The crescent moon ran right through late Victorian jewellery, on brooches, pins and pendants alike. It was worn as a charm for growth and good fortune, and it gave the setter a shape that graduates naturally: stones large at the belly of the crescent and small out at the horns, so the line appears to taper the way a real crescent does. This pin follows that exactly.
The sapphires and the diamonds alternate along the crescent, and that alternation is what gives the piece its flicker. Blue absorbs where white reflects, so the eye reads movement along the curve as the pin catches the light.
The stones are claw set with the crescent left open behind them, and the head sits on a plain tapering pin.
15KT gold is a distinctly British standard. It was legalised in 1854 alongside 12KT and 9KT, and withdrawn in 1932, so a piece struck 15 carat can only have been made inside that window.
Dimensions -
Length: 5.8 cm
Width: 1 cm
Weight: 1.42 g
Specifications -
Metal: 15KT gold
Period: Victorian, 1880s
Fitting: Stick pin
Setting: Claw set, open backed
Sapphires -
Cut: Round
Colour: Blue
Origin: Natural
Total carat weight: 0.07 ct
Diamonds -
Cut: Old cut
Origin: Natural
Total carat weight: 0.04 ct
Condition :
Very good antique condition.
Victorian 15KT gold stick pin modelled as a crescent moon set with natural blue sapphires and old cut diamonds alternating along the curve, 1880s.
The crescent moon ran right through late Victorian jewellery, on brooches, pins and pendants alike. It was worn as a charm for growth and good fortune, and it gave the setter a shape that graduates naturally: stones large at the belly of the crescent and small out at the horns, so the line appears to taper the way a real crescent does. This pin follows that exactly.
The sapphires and the diamonds alternate along the crescent, and that alternation is what gives the piece its flicker. Blue absorbs where white reflects, so the eye reads movement along the curve as the pin catches the light.
The stones are claw set with the crescent left open behind them, and the head sits on a plain tapering pin.
15KT gold is a distinctly British standard. It was legalised in 1854 alongside 12KT and 9KT, and withdrawn in 1932, so a piece struck 15 carat can only have been made inside that window.
Dimensions -
Length: 5.8 cm
Width: 1 cm
Weight: 1.42 g
Specifications -
Metal: 15KT gold
Period: Victorian, 1880s
Fitting: Stick pin
Setting: Claw set, open backed
Sapphires -
Cut: Round
Colour: Blue
Origin: Natural
Total carat weight: 0.07 ct
Diamonds -
Cut: Old cut
Origin: Natural
Total carat weight: 0.04 ct
Condition :
Very good antique condition.
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