Mediterranean coral has been worked into jewellery since antiquity, but the salmon-pink shade seen here was a particular favourite of 19th century Continental jewellers, prized for a warmth of colour that gold and silver alone couldn't provide. This brooch puts sixty-three individual coral beads to work across four rows — three of sixteen, one of fifteen — each strand threaded onto wire and soldered securely at both sides, an arrangement that takes real patience to get even, let alone symmetrical.
Except it isn't symmetrical, deliberately: the whole thing is built as an asymmetric bow shape, a design choice that gives it more movement than a mirrored, formal bow would manage. The silver gilt setting is marked 830, a Continental silver standard rarely seen on British-made pieces, which combined with the coral work points to a probable German origin, dating to around the 1890's. The original C-clasp on the reverse is a small but useful detail for confirming the piece hasn't been altered since it was made.
Condition notes
Very good antique condition. Wear to gilt; the pin is a bit uneven; some of the coral beads have tiny holes.
