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This vintage heart brooch has two interlocking hearts surmounted with a crown. It is set with a central oval cut smoky quartz. The reverse has a hinged steel pin and c-scroll safety clasp and is marked ‘MG’ for Malcolm Gray together with Edinburgh hallmarks for sterling silver and the year 1987.
The Orcadian jewellery maker Malcolm Gray first registered his maker’s punch with the Edinburgh Assay Office in 1968. The following year, he established Ortak Silvercraft which subsequently become one of Orkney’s most iconic jewellery brands alongside Shiela Fleet, Ola Gorie and Aurora, as well as one of the UK’s leading jewellery manufacturers.
Scottish heart brooches are often referred to as luckenbooths, with the name coming from the locked booths that housed the goldsmithing quarter in Edinburgh next to St Giles Kirk. The hearts are often capped with crowns, such as this example, and many were known to have acted as betrothal and wedding gifts particularly during the eighteenth century. They were also occasionally called witches brooches as they were believed to offer protection against witchcraft.
Dimensions:
Height 3.5cm
Width 3.1cm
Weight 8.3g