Dragonfly Floral Button Pendant, Tin Picture Button, Sterling Silver, Victorian, Cottagecore, Upcycled Layering Charm

The Victorians pressed the natural world into everything they made, and buttons were no exception. This one is tin, stamped with a dragonfly tucked among flowers and berries, the background darkened so the raised design shows clearly against it. The button has a twinkle liner — a faceted inner ring that catches light — and a crimped edge, both part of its original manufacture. These extra details were considered worth putting into a button more than a century ago.

Set in a sterling silver bezel with a bead border in sterling following the edge of the button. The bail is a twisted rope, and the oxidation on the silver is intentional and matches the patina of the button.

Hallmarked Blue Piranha and .925. The pendant measures just under 1¼ inches (3.2 cm) long from top of bail to bottom of pendant, and ¾ inch (1.9 cm) wide. The circle is about the size of a US penny. Weight is 2.9 grams.

Each pendant is available without a chain, so you may use your own if you prefer. If you want to add a chain, I offer different lengths and styles. Every chain comes with a 2-inch extender so you can vary the length. Please choose your chain from the options at checkout.

Your purchase arrives gift boxed, presented in a soft pouch with a story card.

Good for: The friend who gardens and reads and collects small things with meaning. For the woman who loves the Victorians: their obsessions, their gardens, their love of the natural world. A keepsake for the nature lover who wears her interests. 

Questions? Please message me. I'm happy to help.

About the buttons:

The "humble" button was once not-so-humble. Buttons are actually the earliest form of adornment, sewn onto garments as decoration before they had practical use as fasteners. They were once considered works of art.

Many buttons I come across are dusty and languishing in cardboard boxes or mason jars. I set them into precious metals and allow them to live a new life, with those who cherish the magic of past eras.

Victorian buttons take two forms: molded glass, and what are known as picture buttons, or pictorials. Each pictorial has a specific image, often flowers, birds, or other natural forms. These buttons are comprised of several parts, often three to five layers, which would have been hand-assembled in the 19th century. 

Black glass buttons were in great demand during the Victorian Era. Queen Victoria famously mourned her husband for forty years, and the rest of England followed. Victorians had great interest in art, history, design, flowers, and symbolism, so almost anything could be translated to these tiny whimsies with which they adorned themselves.

The more colorful buttons are 1950s Czech glass, and are no longer made. These are known as "Moonglow" buttons, due to layering a dome of clear glass over a colored satin glass underlayer. Together the two layers create a sort of "cat's-eye" effect, with subtle shifts as the buttons catch the light. They had a short production window from about the early 1950s to the 1960s, when they were displaced by lighter weight (and less expensive) plastic buttons.