The characteristic of items now known as "cut steel jewellery" is the
use of steel studs set into a backing plate (by screws or rivets). Most
commonly the studs are facetted but other shapes, such as crescents,
vesica and frustra are also used. Perhaps the items now most commonly
found, and originally produced in the greatest numbers, are shoe
buckles. Steel jewellery was not a cheap substitute for precious
stones and certainly not for thepaste imitations which were widely
used. It is sometimes said that you used steel shoe buckles to walk the
muddy streets and then took them off and replaced them with something
more valuable when your carpeted destination was reached. This is not
really the case. Although steel jewellery doubtless came in all price
brackets it was fashionable and prized in its own right - and it could
be very expensive.
