Agate Amethyst Gold Desk Seal | Engraved Heraldic Engraving c.1850s

A beautifully preserved 19th-century desk seal, combining sculptural elegance with personal history.

The faceted handle is cut from richly banded agate - warm, polished, and subtly translucent - tapering to a finely detailed base in 18ct gold.

Set into the foot is an amethyst matrix engraved with a family crest: a heraldic design likely commissioned by a landed family or member of the gentry, making this far more than a decorative object.

The seal would once have been used to sign and authenticate letters, lending its owner both authority and privacy.

There’s something undeniably regal about the proportions and materials - from the heft of the carved agate to the saturated violet of the amethyst.

This was never a novelty; it was a statement of identity.

Today, it stands as a rare and tactile survivor of a slower, more deliberate world - and one that still holds aesthetic power.

Whether kept as a piece of desk art, displayed under a dome, or carried as a personal talisman, it speaks of presence, taste, and lineage.

Length 6cm

 Available exclusively at ELTONS, Grays Antique Market, Mayfair, London.