Antique jewelry glossary

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Pin

A thin, straight (usually cylindrical), pointed and headed object, usually of metal, that is used to fasten garments or various articles, or sometimes worn ornamentally.

Pins have been made of gold, silver, brass, iron, or other materials. Often the head has been decorated with enamelling, engraving or gemstones. A similar pointed fastener at the back of a brooch or fibula and by which the piece is attached to a garment by being pierced twice through the fabric and secured by a cathc-plate. A pointed fastener (called an acus) that is formed by a complete and a 180-degree turn, producing a spring at one end and having at the other end a catch-plate and a guard to cover the point.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson