This is a fine piece of vintage 1970s Scottish silver jewellery. It is a nice brooch with a silver hallmarked on the reverse. It was made for Caithness Glass - and has a silver millefiori glass gem as an embellishment.
The design consists of a circular band infilled with silver leaf shapes and the millefiori cane placed in the centre - almost to resemble a glower.
The catch is a safety ring. There is a hallmark on the back for Edinburgh Silver. The date letter is Q (the year 1971, which suggests that the glass inclusion was probably made by Ysart himself). The letters CJ for Caithness Jewellery are also on the back.
Dimensions: The overall diameter is 2.5 cm. It is very sweet - and probably be best as a cap badge or lapel brooch - or as an understated embellishment on a black sweater.
As you can see from my images - it is in lovely vintage condition. And is nice and clean. It is listed at a fair price given its early date. It will be sent to you in a simple black card gift box.
HISTORY: These pieces of silver jewellery were initially Paul Ysart’s idea. He had been making small ‘stones’ and setting them into cheap jewel fittings as presents for friends and family.
Caithness Glass saw the commercial potential in them and put Colin Terris in charge of further development. The range was officially launched in December 1970. Colin Terris designed a range of brooches and pendants inspired by traditional Scottish designs (such as the Luckenbooth shape) and hired Lucia Polanski as jewellery designer; she produced the rings, earrings, and cufflinks designs.