Agate Jewellery, Victorian Pebble gems

Agate is a colourful form of Quartz gemstone which can be cut and polished into Cabochons or panels and set into jewellery. There are lots of different decorative agates which have been used for hundreds of years but became particularly popular in the Victorian era as part of the Scottish trend. Many of these agates were mined in Scotland although it is found world wide.  I have made a little video which takes a look at some of the wide variety of Agates available as antique and vintage jewellery.

Value of Agate Jewellery

Agate is not a particularly expensive stone as it is quite common. The more decorative and colourful the piece the more value it has. The value in a piece of agate set jewellery (often known as pebble jewellery) can be in the setting . A silver or gold piece of jewellery set with agate is going to be more valuable than agate set into costume jewellery.  The shape of the piece of jewellery is also important as is the size. A Victorian pebble brooch can cost as little as £30 rising in cost with desirability to about £150. I would not expect to see one at a much higher price than this unless it was by a famous maker, set into a heavy gold frame or had some other factor to boost the price.

Care of Agate Jewellery

Agate is quite a hard stone and so will wear well in jewellery and which is why we see so many antique pieces still in good condition. Take care not to drop the piece as I do see agates with cracks in them from time to time. Store pieces separately so that they do not rub together.

If the piece of Agate jewellery is set into gold or silver it is possible to give it a wipe with a damp cloth to clean it without any harm. Some agates have been dyed and so I would avoid cleaning chemicals if possible.

Examples of Agate Jewellery:

AntiquesAvenue.co.uk usually has a few nice agate brooches for you to choose from . Please do take a look int he Antique Brooches section.

Agate Brooch

Looking for antique agate jewellery? Pop over to antiquesavenue.co.uk where I like to have a few pieces on offer – usually in the antique jewellery section.