This one-of-a-kind necklace is composed of:
Victorian 14k solid gold dress pin of a bug from the late 1800s with a natural blue sapphire head and pink tourmaline body. This pin was sourced and found in England.
This necklace measures a standard 18” on a solid 14k gold chain with the pendant measuring 1.25" in width.
THE HISTORY:
Insects were an incredibly popular motif in Victorian jewelry. Butterflies and caterpillars were common, as were dragonflies and beetles. Insects like these reflected change and transformations in life - embracing it rather than fearing it.
Partly inspired by the Ancient Egyptians and in part by a renewed love of nature and the countryside in light of rapid urbanization, natural motifs such as insects were seen as genteel, nurturing and virtuous.
It was in the 1860s that Victorian women first began to wear beetles and other insect motifs on their clothes and accessories, with parasols, hats, and shawls often featuring bejeweled and gilded insects, as well as bracelets, earrings, and rings.
