Gorgeous Old Antique Georgian, Early 1800s Pinchbeck with Amethyst COLOR Paste Stones Necklace. Pinchbeck chain measures 17" long and Pinchbeck Pendant measures 1 & 5/8" long. EXTREMELY RARE!! Doubtful that you'll see another like this in a lifetime. Perfect for the most discriminating Collector. Paste refers to glass that has been hand cut to approximate the shape and coloring of diamonds OR gems & then polished to shine like a gemstone. The practice was established in the Georgian era as a means for those who could not afford elaborate gemstone-jewelry to commission pieces for themselves. Paste stones, which are not made from glass but from lead crystals, with high lead content and are generally more brilliant & can be polished to a higher degree than other fake gemstones. The term Paste is used interchangeably for many crystal and glass based fake-gemstones. Pinchbeck was an alloy of copper and zinc which was developed as a substitute for gold in around 1720 by Christopher Pinchbeck. Christopher‘s pinchbeck was an alloy of approximately 87% copper and 13% zinc and resulted in a very good imitation of gold. It was durable, long lasting and didn’t tarnish. Item C60. MY LISTINGS GENERALLY CONSIST OF MANY ONE OF A KIND OR VERY RARE PIECES, SOLID 14KT ITEMS, PLATINUM, 18KT, DIAMONDS, AMETHYSTS, TOPAZ, AGATE, EMERALDS, SAPPHIRES, OPALS, STERLING SILVER, VINTAGE AND ANTIQUE PIECES, BOLD AND RUNWAY-ERA. DESIGNERS SUCH AS GIVENCHY PARIS NEW YORK, HERMES, GUCCI,PRADA,DIOR.