Cut steel jewelry
from the Antique Jewelry University
Cut steel jewelry consists of tiny faceted and polished steel studs riveted to one or more base plates. It used to be a very good looking substitute for diamond set jewelry. Manufacturing cut steel jewelry was very time consuming and, although a substitute, not cheap at all.
Jewelry made of cut steel included buttons, rings, necklaces, brooches, chatelaine decorations, tiaras and buckles. Cameos were also mounted in cut steel to form medallions. Because of steel's ability to corrode not many pieces have survived to see today's light. When they are encountered they fetch high prices. Collectors are always on the lookout for well preserved cut steel jewelry.
History & Characteristics
| The technique used to create the facets is called chip carving, an ancient technique which traditionally was used on bone and wood. |
Jewelry made of cut steel came into fashion in the mid 1700's. It was first manufactured out of recycled horseshoe nails in Woodstock England. In it's early days up to 15 facets were cut onto the studs. The studs were mounted onto one or more base plates by riveting them through minuscule holes in the plate. Using several base plates gave the piece depth. The use of different sizes studs made a cut steel jewel more brilliant.
Cut Steel became fashionable in France from 1759 on when the French King Louis XV 'requested' the French to donate their jewelry to the state so he could fund his part in the 'Seven Years War'. Cut steel jewelry was worn to substitute the donated (or hidden) jewelry of the French upper classes.
The French provided English cut steel jewelry manufacturers with a very good consuming market. The fact that very cheap (often recycled) material could be turned into a very expensive ornament caused the industrialist Matthew Boulton to look into the cut steel jewelry industry. In the late 1700's he started a factory in Birmingham using cheap labor which soon surpassed the Woodstock industry in volume, but not in quality.
The profitability of cut steel and the great demand of it in France caused a French cut steel industry to rise quickly. A British man named Sykes moved to Paris in 1780 and saw his chance. Turning 3 francs worth of steel into 6000 francs worth of jewelry was a mark up not be mocked with. Soon the Dutch and the Germans had picked up on it and started local manufacturing.
Cut steel remained popular until the late 19th century. By this time the original 15 facets per stud had been reduced to only 5 facets per stud. Often whole ribbons of of studs would be stamped instead of faceted individually. The overall quality of the later pieces came nowhere near the early Woodstock Jewelry.
Marcasite and pyrite jewelry has the same metallic lustre as cut steel and is therefor often confused with it. A quick look at the back of the piece can end that confusion: with cut steel one should see the rivets, pyrite and marcasite are set like diamonds.
Sources Consulted
- Georgian Jewellry. Redington Dawes, Ginny and Collings, Olivia. Antique Collectors' Club Ltd., Woodbridge, England, 2007. ISBN 9781851495399
- An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry. Newman, Harold. Thames & Hudson Ltd. London, 1981 ISBN 0500274525
- Jewelry, Concepts & Technology. Untracht, Oppi. Doubleday, New York, USA, 1982. ISBN 0385041853
- Schmuck, Klassizismus und Biedermeier. Marquardt, Brigitte. Verlag Kunst & Antiquitäten, Munich, Germany, 1983. ISBN 3921811260