Materials Used in Barrettes & Brooches

Table of Contents

Each barrette or brooch is designed and handcrafted from a selection of fine quality materials typically used in making jewelry.

Many of the brass pieces are vintage using dies from as early as the 1940’s. Vintage findings, stampings, and embellishments are limited in availability and therefore many of the barrettes and brooches cannot be duplicated. Vintage pieces sometimes have some discoloration, yellowing, and light scratching due to age and usage.

BRASS FINDINGS AND STAMPINGS
The actual barrette or brooch is hand made from fine quality brass pieces using vintage tooling and dies. The fine quality brass pieces are chosen to suit the design of the barrette or brooch and may be any of the following:

• Gold Plated or Silver Plated: these are standard platings applied to the fine quality brass pieces. They have a shiny appearance. Typically the platings are .925 sterling silver and either 10K or 12K gold.
• Brass Ox, Copper Ox, Pewter Ox,  Gold Ox, Silver Ox – “OX” means oxidized. An oxidized finish gives the piece an antique look. This is done by applying a finish to the plated brass piece. These finishes are durable and enhance the vintage or Victorian appearance of the barrette or brooch. Gold Ox gives a lovely antique soft gold finish that is very vintage in appearance. Silver OX looks like aged sterling. Pewter Ox is typically darker than silver and is a softer more muted color. Copper Ox is a beautiful rich color that looks like a deep red-bronze similar to the appearance of old pennies.
• Gunmetal: This unique finish gives a rich deep black finish that can be muted or shiny. This finish contains nickel. The color can range from a deep coal color to a color resembling the hematite stone.

STONES, CAMEOS AND OTHER EMBELLISHMENTS
Most of the barrettes and brooches begin with fine brass pieces and then other embellishments are added to the design. These embellishments can be vintage, semi-precious stones, glass stones and cabochons, porcelain, hand painted or decaled stones, resin cameos, cloisonné, enameled and hand painted findings, findings from estate jewelry and other brass findings. Personalized embellishments can also be added from one’s own jewelry collection.

THAI HILL SILVER
Thai hill silver components are used in some of the barrettes and brooches. Thai Hill silver is actually tin that has been hand etched and imported into the United States from the Hill Tribes of Thailand. They are then domestically plated with sterling silver which gives the pieces a rich antiqued finish that enhances the hand crafting that goes into each piece.