Description: A beautiful quality pietra dura (Italian for hard stone) locket pendant. The pietra dura work is very fine with each element made up of small pieces of different coloured natural stone laid into a black, Belgian slate base (can you imagine the time and skill required!). The outer gold frame is just as good with hundreds of little gold Etruscan revival elements which have all been made and attached by hand. It would be just about impossible to have this sort of thing made today and if you could you'd be paying skilled artisans a lot of money!
Age: c1880 Victorian Etruscan revival.
Size and weight: 9.54g 5cm Inc bale x 3cm
Materials: High carat gold (acid tested to at least 15ct, not XRF tested as yet), Base metal to rear of setting, glass, Black slate, hardstones
Condition: Excellent. When you hold it up to the light there is a slight area (from 2 o'clock to 5 o'clock) where the slate is a little more matt than the rest, we don't think this is anything to worry about and it may just need a little polish, we tend to leave things like this alone especially where its hard to notice.
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Have items to sell or exchange? – We buy pretty much all jewellery and can take scrap or broken gold as payment (we match any genuine price available anywhere, no ifs or buts) and if you have antique or interesting pieces we will always do our best to buy.
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