Does it have coral red or malachite style stones?
Watch out for this one! You may occasionally come across some Scottish style brooches which at first look to be genuine antiques – usually round brooches, or occasionally clovers or a horseshoe. However they are not that old – they are modern mid to late 20th Century reproductions. These brooches are set into solid silver (stamped plain 925, which antique silver never was), closed at the back (ie full silver rather than open or slate backed), and have small ‘agate’ tiles of malachite and coral red. But these stones are not agates – they are very good glass copies (or sometimes a thick coloured type of hard enamel).
