A fine and distinguished pair of Victorian chain-link cufflinks in 15ct gold, each set with a hand-carved hard stone cameo face and matching back — four cameos in total — depicting a knight and maiden in the chivalric tradition that was central to the Victorian romantic imagination. Hard stone cameos, carved from layered stones such as agate or onyx rather than from shell, represent a significantly more demanding and time-consuming form of the carver's art than shell cameos: the hardness of the stone requires greater skill and patience, and the resulting pieces have a depth and permanence that shell cannot match. The chivalric subject — the armoured knight and the maiden — is a quintessentially Victorian choice, reflecting the period's deep engagement with medieval romance and the ideals of courtly love as expressed through the works of Tennyson and the Pre-Raphaelites. Chain-link fittings. Unhallmarked; tests as 15ct gold. 1.3 × 1.7cm; weight 11.2g.

The Details

• Circa: Victorian
• Weight: 11.2g
• Cameo dimensions: 1.3 × 1.7cm
• Hallmarks: Unhallmarked; tests as 15ct gold
• Cameos: Hand-carved hard stone (four panels: two faces, two backs)
• Subject: Knight and maiden
• Fitting: Chain-link