Buckled Up Collection

Grandmother's Buttons' newest line of jewelry is the Buckled Up Collection that unveiled at the New York International Gift Fair in August. The collection is made up of one-of-a-kind necklace pendants that are created with antique and vintage buckles and shoe clips, handcrafted tassels, and buttons.
The buckles in the collection range in age from the 1880's through the mid 1900's, in a variety of materials, including cut steel, glass, stamped metal, enamel, mother of pearl shells, and wood. Cut steel buckles, pictured below, are made with individual faceted steel pieces that are riveted onto metal backs. Invented in the mid-eighteenth century, cut steel was revived in women's fashion in the ninteenth century.

[caption id="attachment_688" align="aligncenter" width="486" caption="Three pendants with a combination of cut steel and stamped metal buckles from the 1890's and handcrafted tassels."][/caption]

Glass is a common material in buckles because of the different processes available to form it. Black glass became common in the era of Queen Victoria as she mourned her husband. Often etched with details, these pieces range from dull to shiny and can vary in their depths of black.

Left: A 1920's silvered brass buckle with vintage Czechoslovakian glass chandelier jewels. Right: Two long glass cabochons from 1912 fit perfectly into a gilded Belle Epoch buckle.

"Brass in an alloy of copper and zinch which became popular during the 18th century for jewelry making"(McGrath) and commonly used in buckle making. Brass can be stamped, plated, cast, engraved and oxidized, allowing for intricate details to be shown through the metal.

[caption id="attachment_691" align="aligncenter" width="584" caption="Three pendants combine 19th century buttons and buckle."][/caption]

Check out the available Buckled Up Collection pieces online at our website. All pieces are on-of-a-kind. Quantities and availability are limited!

 

McGrath, Gerald H., Fashion Buckles Commons to Classics., 1997 Schiffer Publishing Ltd.