Victorian Opal and Diamond Brooch

• Rose Cut - A flat based cut for a preious stone, leaving the surface covered with triangular facets, usually 24 in total.
  
  It was introduced in the 15th century and popular during the 16th and 17th centuries.
  
  The rose cut was the most popular form of diamond cut until the discovery of the brilliant cut at the end of the 17th century, after which its use declined.
• Cabochon Cut in Jewellery - A cabochon cut is a type of gemstone cutting where the stone is cut and polished in a convex shape with a flat bottom and a domed top, with no facets. This type of cut is typically used for opaque or translucent stones that have natural patterns or inclusions that are best displayed in this type of cut. Examples of stones that are often cut as cabochons include turquoise, opal, and moonstone.
• Finial - An architectural decoration, found on the upper parts of of an object. On furniture they are usually found on pediments, canopies and shelf supports. On smaller ceramic or silver items, such as spoons, they may decorate the top of the item itself, or the lid or cover where they provide a useful handle for removal.
  
  Finials have a variety of shapes and forms. They may be urn-shaped, baluster shaped round or spiral, but usually taper into an upper point. Many real life shapes may also be used as finials, such as pineapples, berries, pinecones, buds, lotus and acorns. Sometimes animals such as a lion are depicted, or fish and dolphins.
• Victorian Period - The Victorian period of furniture and decorative arts design covers the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. There was not one dominant style of furniture in the Victorian period. Designers used and modified many historical styles such as Gothic, Tudor, Elizabethan, English Rococo, Neoclassical and others, although use of some styles, such as English Rococo and Gothic tended to dominate the furniture manufacture of the period.
  
  The Victorian period was preceded by the Regency and William IV periods, and followed by the Edwardian period, named for Edward VII (1841 ? 1910) who was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India for the brief period from 1901 until his death in 1910.
• A/f, as Inspected - The letters "A/F" or "as inspected" as part of a description is the cataloguer's shorthand for "all faults" or "as found", meaning the item has some type of damage or deficiency, it is of uncertain date or provenance, and/or that the seller takes no responsibility for the completeness of the item or the accuracy of the description.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• brooches, set with - opal with diamonds 118