Antique Victorian Silver-plated Orangey-Red Banded Carnelian Agate Brooch With Very online Fine Plaited Rope Border

Here is a beautiful antique Victorian banded Carnelian agate brooch - very pretty indeed !! A silver-plated oval brooch, with a beautiful orangey-red and yellowy clear carnelian agate stone that has a translucent appearance when held up to the light. The oval stone is framed with a very fine plaited silver rope border and we know this is Victorian as it has the classic T-bar hinge, curly C-clasp and extra long pin - essential for staying done up on the heavy fabrics of the Victorian dresses. This pin was used right on into the Edwardian period too, but this has all the look of a classic Victorian design.

This is a medium-sized brooch at 2.8cms x 3.8cms wide (1 1/8" x 1 1/2") and has a large curly C-clasp, in the traditional Victorian manner !! I love the gorgeous orangey red colour and the fine curved banding of this beautiful agate stone.
There are no silver hallmarks on this but that may simply be because there isn't enough silver content to warrant it. However, it's not marked '925' or 'silver' either, which would be normal on a sterling piece if no actual hallmarks are present - therefore I conclude this might be silver-plated rather than solid sterling silver.

CONDITION:
This brooch is in pretty good condition, but the silver plated frame around the stone does have a couple of fine breaks in it, and the fine rope twist around the frame is a teensy bit wobbly in places. This is applied as a seperate piece after the main brooch is finished, so it's not surprising that it comes a bit unstuck here and there, as the metal expands and contracts. It responds well to a little silver dip cleaner on a corner of a rag. I have dropped the price a little as it is a lovely brooch, but not perfect.
The T-bar pin assembly is all in good order and works well.

CARNELIAN
Carnelian is the red, orange, or amber variety of Chalcedony. Though often a solid colour, it can also be banded, in which case it would be jointly classified as both Agate and Chalcedony. Carnelian is an ancient gemstone, having been used as decorative and jewellery material since antiquity. The Ancient Egyptians were very fond of it and used it for all their rusty-red coloured gems.

Carnelian is translucent, although it can be nearly opaque but will still let light through when viewed from the edges. Though online Carnelian is often a solid colour, it may contain stripes like this one, or lighter and darker zones within a single stone, or cloudy areas.

I personally love all the different agates and thus I really love Victorian and Edwardian jewellery like this, for its agate content, especially when combined with sterling silver or silver-plated metal, which suits it particularly well.