Antique silver jewellery: Part I

Antique silver jewellery is often overlooked as we are inclined to focus more on gold jewellery but silver was a very important metal throughout history and was highly valued. It was used as currency in both the Roman and Egyptian civilisations and at times, depending on the supply of it, was worth more than gold.

Silver has been used for fine jewellery for centuries. Often, the choice of which metal was used depended on availability and on the style of jewellery being created. Sometimes, in the Georgian period, both gold and silver were used on the same piece. Georgians considered that silver set off the look of diamonds the best, so the stones were set in silver, with the back of the piece or the band being gold.

Silver also lent itself to detailed metal work, as can be seen in the band for the Georgian emerald ring in the photo above and in the stunning early Victorian silver brooch below. The two rampant lions on either side of the central amethyst stone are beautifully crafted.

Silver could be used for large pieces of jewellery and was to remain a popular metal for jewellery until the end of the 18^th century and into the 19^th century when fashion demanded more delicate designs and pieces.