Midcentury, Moonglow Blue Button Necklace, Upcycled Vintage Glass, Sterling Silver Pendant

A rare deep blue moonglow button, from the mid-twentieth century.  What moonglows I have found, are typically pale colors and pastel hues. This one is a rich deep cerulean, with a fantastic 'cat's-eye' effect.

This button has been set into sterling silver and given a classical rope border. The pendant suspends from a handmade bail, which can accommodate a variety of cord or chain options. 

Most of the glass buttons from the Victorian era were black or silver, so I looked to a more recent era to add a bit of color to the button jewelry. Moonglow buttons were made in postwar Europe, from the 1940s to the 1960s, in both Czechoslovokia and Germany. These buttons have a layer of clear glass over the colored glass, giving them a beautiful depth and a somewhat milky effect, almost like a moonstone. 

Materials: sterling silver, glass. Hallmarks: Blue Piranha, .925

From top to bottom, the pendant measures just over 1 inch, or 2.5 cm, long and  3/4 inch, or 1.9 cm, wide. 

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 will arrive gift boxed, presented in a soft pouch with a story card which gives information about the item and its history.

Any questions? 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. They're beautiful relics of a time long past.

The more colorful buttons are 1950s Czech glass. 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.