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CUT STEEL jewelry is made of polished steel faceted studs riveted to a steel backing and used to create jewelry and ornaments, buttons and chatelaines. Steel was also cut to form chains and beads. Popular from the Georgian through the Victorian eras, cut steel jewelry reflecting the warm glow of candlelight must have been something to behold.

Motifs varied from the simple to the sublime, with multiple layers and densely packed studs. Designs could be enhanced by the use of varying sized studs as well. Each stud could have up to 15 facets, and in general the finer and older the piece the more facets the studs will have.

Woodstock was a small town outside Oxford, England, site of the most famous cut steel workshops circa 1760s. A jeweler during that time might have been selling cut steel jewelry a price higher than gold.

Made in both England and Europe, this style of jewelry fell out of favor for awhile around the turn of the 19th century, but it never falls out of favor with me! I have collected it for years and still do.

Since cut steel will rust if it gets damp and is difficult to polish or clean, much of it has been discarded and a relative few good pieces remain today. In general, the smaller the pieces of cut steel used in the jewelry, the earlier the item was. Later jewelry had larger cut steel brads.

Whether jewelry, chatelaines or purses, it graces anything on which it is used.

We have some wonderful cut steel jewelry, purses and chatelaines for sale right now, and you can buy some for your own collection HERE.

You might also enjoy our feature on cut steel by clicking HERE.

For many of us, fish in jewelry is the ultimate in whimsy! Whether bakelite or rhinestone, enameled or painted, each piece has a personality all its own. I have always enjoyed the 1940s Staret brooches with big rhinestone bellies, perfect with a "man shirt" and jeans. Carved and painted into bakelite, fish pieces are wonderful accessories to be mixed and matched with other bakelite pieces. And in paste, they can be worn with even the dressiest look.

To see all the fish that we have for sale, check our selection at Morning Glory Jewelry.


And our feature showing even more FISH jewelry is HERE in our gallery, "Morning Glory Collects".

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http://www.morninggloryjewelry.com/