Description
Date: c. 1775-1800, last quarter of 18th century
Materials: almandine garnet, Brazilian ‘minas novas’: 39 clear topaz, 19 quartz, 3 paste, silver
Weight: 13.2 grams
Height: 33 mm
Width: 35 mm
Depth: 8.8 mm
Diameter of garnet: 6.4 mm
Dimension of ‘minas novas’ gems: 5.2 mm (largest) – 2 mm (smallest)
Condition: three of the gems in the innermost 2 mm halo test as pastes; they’re likely later replacements. Four stones in this same innermost halo are chipped at the corner (due to the small size of these stones, this problem isn’t noticeable with the naked eye, but visible under 40x magnification). Aside from this innermost halo, the rest of the stones are in excellent condition; all are sharp, well-preserved, and securely set. The brooch fitting to the back may not be original. There’s age-related surface wear and tarnish to the silver.