For a couple of minutes when my eyes lit on this lovely fellow (below), I thought I’d literally struck gold. However, on closer examination he’s almost certainly NOT made of real gold, just gilt. For a start, the pin is several shades darker than the rest of the brooch. And if you look reaaaally closely at the bar and the spider’s legs, you’ll see tiny irregularities in the gilt coverage/shading. But the amethyst stone looks real enough, and judging by the style (bar brooch with an old-fashioned C-clasp), the brooch is at least 100 years old. Creepy-crawly themed jewellery was huge in the Victorian era, and this handsome arachnid is typical of the breed.