A gorgeous antique Victorian 9ct gold locket beautifully chased and hand engraved on one side in floral and fern pattern and the other superbly enamelled with a rose, lily and forget-me-not and the sentiment 'Mizpah' in a ribbon motif. The locket can be worn with either side facing so essentially you have two lovely antique lockets in one!
At 9.5 grams the locket is fairly heavy in a subtle rosy gold colour with a lovely pillowed puffy profile. It has a very decorative fixed dog-clip gold bale at the top which is wide bore so will accommodate most thicknesses of chains (the chain shown is not included).
The locket opens from the side to reveal a photo station with glass, lining paper and a picture ring on one side. The other side can be used for another photo by cutting the photo slightly larger and tucking it under the gold rim to hold it in place.
Mizpah was a very popular sentiment during the Victorian era. The word comes from the old testament "Mizpah- the Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent from one another", Mizpah jewellery served as sweetheart jewellery given to a loved one during a period of long separation such as military service or travel.
An absolute darling of a love token locket, very sweet and sentimental. The locket is in beautiful antique condition with light signs of wear in keeping with age. There is some enamel loss on the flowers but not enough to detract from the beauty of this piece, please see the photos. The locket hinge is solid and it snaps shut with a satisfying click. The dog-clip bale doesn't have a lever to open it, instead it is fixed permanently closed with gold solder.
MATERIALS: 9ct gold, enamel
SIZE: 1-3/4" (4.5cm) tall with the bale, 1" (2.5cm) wide, 10mm deep
HALLMARKS: stamped '9K' on the bale and we have acid tested the locket to verify it is solid 9ct gold
WEIGHT: 9.5 grams
DATE: Victorian, circa 1870