This tortoishelle brooch has been inlaid with silver and gold. The process has been lost in the mists of time , and it would be impossible to reproduce such pieces. The tortoishelle was heated, then the pattern was pressed in. Brooches such as this one were worn as mourning jewellery. After Prince Albert died Queen Victoria went into deep mourning and the country followed her. At first pieces of jewellery were all black and sombre such as jet, but as the years rolled on the jewellers took more liberties and added decoration. This example is from about 1890.