Wonderful full-length Georgian steel guard chain composed of open panels and steel split rings c.1800.
56 inches. Excellent condition.
Original steel dog clip, can easily be worn as triple chain.
Typical of the work of Matthew Boulton’s Soho Manufactory.
A craze for cut steel jewels and 'toys'(buckles, chatelaines, buttons, sword hilts) swept Europe at the end of the c18th utilising tiny pieces of steel, facetted and highly polished to imitate the scintillation of diamonds especially by candlelight.
So expensive and fashionable was steel at this time that Catherine the Great, Empress Josephine and Queen Charlotte were all presented with parures. Mathew Boulton along with Josiah Wedgewood were the leading manufacturers of the day who both utilised cut steel to great effect.