A Mischievous Victorian Bee or Fly Brooch for the Lapel, circa 1890

A playful Victorian brooch from circa 1890, modelled as a stylised bee or fly with finely engraved red gold wings and silver-set accents. Its body is bright with rubies, rose cut diamonds and glinting diamond highlights, while a blue sapphire forms the centre of the thorax. There is something delightfully mischievous about wearing such a tiny jewelled creature on a lapel or shoulder, as if it had just settled there for a moment.

Jewellery Type
brooch

Condition
very good condition
more info on our condition scale

Country of origin
unknown

Style
Victorian jewellery - This style refers to jewellery from circa 1837 to 1901 (Britain and the wider Western world). Typical features include gold and silver range from hand finished lockets to stamped pieces, set with garnet, turquoise or star set diamonds. Typical motifs include serpents symbolising eternal love, hearts, anchors and crosses (love, hope and faith), hands for friendship and fidelity, forget-me-nots, ivy and acorns, naturalistic flowers. The style was shaped by reign of Queen Victoria, Industrial Revolution and new technologies, British Empire and global trade routes, Great Exhibition of 1851, archaeological excavations and scholarship, including Pompeii and Troy.
more info on styles

Style specifics
Grand Victorian - This jewel belongs to the Grand Victorian period, roughly 1860 to 1880. This phase is often associated with more substantial jewels, diamonds, pearls, dark stones and mourning jewellery. The period followed the death of Prince Albert in 1861 and is closely associated with Queen Victoria’s mourning. At the same time, wealth, empire and international influences, including India and Japan, helped shape jewellery design.

Period
ca. 1890
Events & facts of this era, poetry of this era, fashion of this era.

Source of inspiration
Nature

Theme
a stylised bee

Material 18K
red gold gold and details in silver (touchstone tested)
more info on precious metals

Diamonds
Thirteen rose cut diamonds and senailles . A senaille is a simplified rose cut diamond, a small diamond chip with perhaps a few polished facets. We do not have the weight of the rose cut diamonds nor the senailles which is normal in our trade when it comes to rose cut diamonds and senailles.

- All diamonds in our antique and vintage jewellery, regardless of size or shape, are verified by the IJGC laboratory as natural.

Precious stones
Nine rubies with an approximate total weight of 0.36ct
One sapphire

All coloured stone weights stated are approximate unless otherwise noted, as stones are not removed from their settings in orde.
Gemstones are often treated to improve their colour or clarity. The stones in this piece have not been tested for treatment unless otherwise stated.

Birthstones
Diamond is the birthstone (or month stone) for April, ruby for July and sapphire for September.
more info on birthstones

Hallmarks
No trace.
more info on hallmarks

Dimensions
4,20 cm (1,65 inch) x 2,70 cm (1,06 inch)
see picture with a ruler in millimeters and inches

Weight
7,50 gram (4,82 dwt)

Adin Reference Nº
26182-0183

Copyright photography
Adin, fine antique jewellery

Additional information
our latest acquisitions
jewelry glossary
wall of fame
visit us in Antwerp
subscribe to our mailing list