Gold Rush jewelry grew out of the feverish boom years following the 1848 discovery at Sutter’s Mill. Men poured into California from every corner of the world, and by the 1860s a thriving local jewelry industry had emerged to serve them and the families who followed. These early workshops used whatever the earth offered: native gold, gold-in-quartz, agate, and other miner’s stones that spoke to the landscape itself.
Pieces from this era lean toward sturdy construction and straightforward symbolism. Horseshoes, nuggets, and quartz slabs were set into lockets and watch fobs as proof of luck, perseverance, and proximity to the mines. Gold-in-quartz especially became a regional hallmark. Jewelers sliced polished slabs of white quartz shot through with natural gold veins, framing them in warm karat gold so that the piece functioned almost like a geological specimen you could wear.
MATERIALS: 14k gold (marked), enamel, pink, gray & black gold in quartz, agate
AGE: c. 1890
CONDITION: Very good - the enamel rivets all show surface wear
SIZE: 1 3/4" length including the bale, 1" width