Vintage Australian Marcasite Brooch, Lega 1950's

Vintage Australian Marcasite Bird of Paradise Brooch by Lega, Melbourne, 1948 - 1980.

Marcasite was enormously popular in the 1950's, and the Mordialloc based company  Lega, was one of the few firms in Australia producing marcasite jewellery.

Originally manufactured in the late 18th Century, Marcasite Jewellery was made of facetted crystals of iron pyrites (fools gold) set by hand in silver. Marcasite was a popular & inexpensive substitute for diamonds and was used to good effet under candelight. While never going totally out of vogue, being revised in England some 100 years after it was first made, it is the material produced in the 1390's, 40's and 50's that we are most familiar with.

Quality varies enormously. The older pieces are generally much better made, the stones are individually handset in silver and signed by the makers. Much of the marcasite produced in Germany was of good quality, with items by Theodore Farhner being very desirable. In some modern jewellery, cheaper pieces are cast in metals other than silver, with stone are glued in rather than handset and not pyrites or even polished steel.

Metal: Sterling Silver

Marks: LEGA No:514

Height: 5cm

Width: 4.5cm

Reference: A similar example is illustrated  page 53 'Australian Jewellers Gold & Silversmiths Makers & Marks' Cavill Cocks & Grace 

Condition: Excellent vintage condition

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

SEDGWICKS pride ourselves on sourcing and selling Antique & Estate Jewellery that is of fine quality and in great condition.

Antique & Estate Jewellery is seldom in perfect or ‘new’ condition as age is inherent for it to be classified as such. Nearly all items we sell are ‘Second-hand’ and will almost certainly show some signs of wear. These may include faint scuffmarks and small dents, even very minor repairs. These are considered acceptable when dealing with objects that have lived a full life. Any imperfections or minor damage will be listed in the description and visible in the photo.

We do ask that you carefully view the photographs provided and note we are happy to supply more images or fuller description if requested.

To help you make your assessment, many higher value items are accompanied by an Independent Valuation for Retail or Insurance Purposes.

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Layby: If you love this piece and would like to pay if off over time  - visit our Layby Page for more information or contact us to discuss our agreeable layby plans.

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Insurance: If you require your items to be insured for shipping, please contact us for a quote and we shall arrange this for you through Australia Post.

Returns: In the unlikely event that an item is incorrectly described, we ask that you contact us immediately to discuss a return, repair or exchange. There can be no returns, repairs or exchanges after 7 days. The item must be returned in the condition in which we sold it. The cost of return shipping to be borne by the customer.