MARCASITE

MARCASITE jewellery is made from pyrite (fool's gold), not, as the name suggests, from marcasite. Pyrite is similar to marcasite, but more stable and less brittle. Marcasite jewellery has been made since the time of the Ancient Greeks. It was particularly popular in the eighteenth century, the Victorian era and with Art Nouveau jewellery designers. It is frequently made by setting small pieces of pyrite into silver.