Antique Victorian 1880s Scottish agate "pebble" panel bracelet with padlock clasp

A Victorian agate or "pebble" bracelet from the late 1800s with a more modern padlock heart clasp. The bracelet is fashioned in sterling silver with three carved and polished slabs of banded agate neatly fitted in engraved caps. These are spaced by openwork links of hand-chased silver. Two of the three agates are "X" shaped and the third is more column-shaped with a ridged center. What a mystery! The locket closes with a simple hook clasp and the padlock fits through to secure the bracelet with a nice "click." This bracelet most certainly originally had a "pebble" set padlock clasp, likely lost to time or separated for a different purpose at some point. 

Victorian stone or "pebble" jewelry was popularized by Queen Victoria, who vacationed with her family at Balmoral castle in Aberdeenshire and delighted in rock and "gem" hunting while she was there. The Queen often used jewelry to commemorate the important, sentimental moments and relationships in her life and her experiences in Scotland were no exception. She had jewelry made for herself, her family, and her friends from the humble agates, jaspers, and quartzes native to the land. It was not long before the Queen's subjects wanted Scottish "pebble" jewelry for themselves, too. Originally produced mostly in Scotland as souvenir jewelry, increased demand soon meant that jewelers all across Great Britain were making and selling brooches, bracelets, and necklaces in this style.

Measurements: 7 3/4" end to end, 23.2 grams
Era: Bracelet 1880s, padlock clasp 1968
Markings: Hallmarks on clasp