{"title":"Antique \u0026 Vintage Brooches","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe brooch is one of the oldest jewel forms in the world, and for most of its history it was also one of the hardest working: before buttons and zips, a brooch closed a cloak, pinned a scarf, and carried a family's wealth and allegiance in plain sight. The antique brooches at Royal Regency span the form's great decorative age — the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth — when a brooch was not an accessory but a standard part of how a woman dressed, and makers lavished their best work on it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVictorian brooches speak the era's language of sentiment. Bar brooches carry roses, swallows, and crescent moons; cameo brooches bear profiles carved in shell in the Neoclassical taste; and Scottish pebble jewelry — brooches and kilt pins set with banded agate and bloodstone in engraved sterling silver — was worn with Highland dress and became fashionable far beyond Scotland after the Queen herself embraced it. Hair jewelry belongs to the same world: woven and basket-worked hair, made from the hair of a loved one, turned an ornament into a keepsake that happened to be worn.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy the Edwardian years the brooch had grown lighter and brighter. Paste — fine cut glass, foil-backed and set like diamonds — was worked into bar brooches with seed pearls, and goldsmiths engraved floral designs across warm nine-karat gold. The bar brooch, a horizontal pin worn at the throat or on a blouse, became the period's everyday jewel: modest in size, exact in workmanship, and made to be worn constantly rather than kept for occasions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCollectors wear these pieces today exactly as they were worn then — at a collar, on a lapel or scarf, or pinned to a hat or bag — and the fittings tell the story of their age: early pieces carry the simple tube hinge and open C-catch, later ones the safety catch that replaced them. Every brooch at Royal Regency is researched before it is listed, its marks read and its stones and materials described as they are, so what you pin on is what we say it is.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFrequently asked questions\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is the difference between a brooch and a pin?\u003c\/strong\u003e Very little, in practice. The pin is the fastening — a stem with a hinge and catch — and the brooch is the ornamental piece built on it. Sellers use the words interchangeably; a bar brooch is a brooch in a long, horizontal form, and a kilt pin is a brooch made to fasten a kilt or heavy wool.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow can you tell how old a brooch is?\u003c\/strong\u003e The fittings are the first clue: nineteenth-century brooches usually have a tube hinge and an open C-shaped catch, while the locking safety catch belongs to the twentieth century. Hallmarks, the cutting of the stones, and hand-made construction confirm what the fittings suggest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is a bar brooch?\u003c\/strong\u003e A bar brooch is a long, narrow brooch, often set with stones or pearls or engraved across its face. Victorian and Edwardian women wore them at the throat, on a collar, or centered on a blouse, and they remain the easiest antique brooch to wear with modern clothing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is Scottish pebble jewelry?\u003c\/strong\u003e It is the Victorian jewelry of Highland Scotland: brooches, kilt pins, and dirk-shaped pins set with native stones — banded agate, bloodstone, jasper, and Cairngorm quartz — in engraved silver. It was made for Highland dress and became a fashionable souvenir and gift across Britain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow should an antique brooch be worn today?\u003c\/strong\u003e On a lapel, coat, or scarf it works as it always did. Mind the weight against fine fabrics — heavier brooches belong on wool, denim, or a jacket — and pin through a seam or a doubled layer where you can, so the cloth carries the piece comfortably.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFrom Our Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe brooches below have already been sold through Royal Regency. We keep them here as a record of the pieces we handle — each one researched and checked before it was offered, in the same way as everything in this collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0835\/5820\/3645\/files\/brooch-cameo-goddess.jpg?v=1792522803\u0026amp;width=900\" alt=\"Antique 10k gold Victorian shell cameo brooch and pendant with Greek goddess profile\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA Victorian shell cameo brooch and pendant in 10-karat gold.\u003c\/strong\u003e The profile of a Greek goddess, hand-carved in shell in the Neoclassical taste, made to be worn pinned as a brooch or hung as a pendant. Sold through our Whatnot showroom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0835\/5820\/3645\/files\/brooch-monkey.jpg?v=1792522815\u0026amp;width=900\" alt=\"Antique Victorian sterling silver and paste monkey brooch with garnet eyes\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA Victorian monkey brooch in sterling silver and paste.\u003c\/strong\u003e The monkey is set with glittering paste and finished with garnet eyes — the Victorians loved animal jewels, and their menageries in silver were made with real wit as well as skill. Sold through our Whatnot showroom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0835\/5820\/3645\/files\/brooch-hair-basket.jpg?v=1792522824\u0026amp;width=900\" alt=\"Antique Victorian gold filled basket weave hair brooch\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA Victorian basket-weave hair brooch, gold filled.\u003c\/strong\u003e Human hair woven into a basket pattern — the sentimental hairwork the Victorians made from the hair of someone they loved, worn as a jewel and kept as a remembrance. Sold through our Whatnot showroom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0835\/5820\/3645\/files\/brooch-micromosaic-colosseum.jpg?v=1792522834\u0026amp;width=900\" alt=\"Victorian Grand Tour micro mosaic brooch of the Colosseum, 1860s, Italian gold filled\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA Grand Tour micro mosaic brooch of the Colosseum, 1860s.\u003c\/strong\u003e Hundreds of tiny glass tesserae set in the Roman manner to picture the Colosseum — the souvenir a traveler brought home from Italy, and a small painting in glass. Sold through our Whatnot showroom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0835\/5820\/3645\/files\/brooch-bohemian-garnet.jpg?v=1792522843\u0026amp;width=900\" alt=\"Antique Victorian gold over sterling Bohemian garnet brooch and pendant\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA Victorian Bohemian garnet brooch and pendant, gold over sterling.\u003c\/strong\u003e Rose-cut garnets packed in the tight cluster setting that Bohemia supplied to all of Europe, deep red and made to convert between brooch and pendant. Sold through our Whatnot showroom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0835\/5820\/3645\/files\/brooch-butterfly.jpg?v=1792522853\u0026amp;width=900\" alt=\"Sterling silver butterfly brooch with ruby eyes and jadeite wings, 1940s\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA butterfly brooch in sterling silver, 1940s.\u003c\/strong\u003e Ruby eyes and jadeite wings carry the insect jewel — a Victorian favorite — into the twentieth century, still made by hand and still made to move light. Sold through our Whatnot showroom.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"1940s-art-nouveau-14k-gold-maiden-swans-brooch-pendant-enamel-diamond-star","title":"1940s Art Nouveau 14K Gold Maiden \u0026 Swans Brooch Pendant — Enamel \u0026 Diamond Star","description":"\u003cp\u003eA maiden stands between two swans, her hair falling in the long, flowing lines the Art Nouveau era made famous. Cattails rise on either side of her, their leaves worked in translucent green enamel with yellow tips, and deep plum-red enamel runs beneath the swans like water. At the top, a white-metal star is set with a small diamond.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a 1940s piece made in the Art Nouveau taste, cast in 14K gold. The color is enamel laid over the gold itself, in the plique-à-jour style — the enamel is backed by the metal rather than suspended in open cells, which is how the effect was achieved on a substantial cast piece like this. It is a brooch and a pendant in one: a pin stem with a roll-over safety catch at the back, and a fixed bail at the top for a chain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe gold is unmarked — there is no maker's mark and no karat stamp anywhere on the piece — and has been tested as 14K. The diamond is a small accent stone; it has not been graded for size or cut. At approximately 3 to 3-1\/2 inches tall, this is a large, statement-scale piece, made to be seen across a room, exactly as its subject deserves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDetails:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1940s, Art Nouveau style\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCast 14K yellow gold, tested; unmarked\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTranslucent enamel over gold: green, yellow, deep plum-red\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOne small diamond set in a white-metal star (ungraded accent)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBrooch fitting with roll-over safety catch; fixed pendant bail at top\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMeasures approximately 3 to 3-1\/2 inches tall (see package notes — photo-estimated)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCondition: very good; enamel presents intact and the fittings are sound, as photographed\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Royal Regency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":71700643610877,"sku":"AN-14K-SWAN-40s","price":1395.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0835\/5820\/3645\/files\/editorial-gloss.jpg?v=1792963909"},{"product_id":"victorian-shell-cameo-brooch-hebe-feeding-the-eagle-of-zeus-sterling-silver-frame-c-1860-1880","title":"Victorian Shell Cameo Brooch — Hebe Feeding the Eagle of Zeus, Sterling Silver Frame, c.1860–1880","description":"\u003cp\u003eA large Victorian shell cameo of one of the great Grand Tour subjects: Hebe, goddess of youth and cupbearer to the gods of Olympus, feeding the eagle of Zeus. She kneels at a garlanded altar among the clouds, pouring nectar from her jug into a patera as the great eagle bends his head to drink, wings spread behind her.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe cameo is hand-carved in high relief from a single bullmouth shell — cream carving standing against the shell's peach-orange ground — in the Italian carving tradition of Torre del Greco, whose workshops supplied the cameos carried home from the Grand Tour. The carving is fine and deep throughout: individually worked eagle feathers, flowing classical drapery, the garlanded altar and the cloud base all cut by hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt sits in its period English sterling silver frame with a twisted rope edge, open at the back so the shell shows through, and fastens with the original tube hinge and C-clasp.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCondition: the shell carries an old glue repair on its underside, visible in the photographs — an honest, stable old repair to the reverse that does not touch the carved face. Approx. 2⅜ inches wide. Pre-owned.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Royal Regency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":71771379859709,"sku":"HEB-1870","price":275.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0835\/5820\/3645\/files\/hebe-01-hero-editorial.jpg?v=1793480598"},{"product_id":"antique-victorian-french-jet-mourning-bar-brooch-14k-gold-seed-pearl-cross-drop","title":"Antique Victorian French Jet Mourning Bar Brooch 14K Gold Seed Pearl Cross Drop","description":"\u003cp\u003eA late Victorian mourning bar brooch, c.1880, in French jet and 14K gold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe long bar is French jet — the black glass the Victorian period used in place of Whitby jet — polished to a deep, mirror gloss and held in a 14K gold back. From the centre of the bar hangs the drop: a black enamel fleur-de-lis link above a faceted French jet pendant, applied with a gold cross set with seed pearls and a seed pearl band.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery element carries the language of Victorian mourning. The seed pearls stand for tears, the cross for faith, and the black of the jet for grief itself — yet by the 1880s French jet had also become high fashion in its own right, worn well beyond the mourning period. Pieces like this, gold-backed and complete with their original articulated drop, are the ones that survive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStamped 14K to the reverse, with a maker's mark alongside.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrench jet (black glass) bar and drop\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e14K gold back, fittings and cross\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBlack enamel fleur-de-lis link\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSeed pearls\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWeight: 15.3 grams\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSafety catch\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Royal Regency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":71808193593597,"sku":"FJB-1880","price":550.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0835\/5820\/3645\/files\/jet-01-hero-editorial.jpg?v=1793809885"}],"url":"https:\/\/royalregencyjewelry.com\/fr\/collections\/antique-brooches.oembed","provider":"Royal Regency Antique Jewelry","version":"1.0","type":"link"}