Fine Antique Victorian Era Tortoise Shell Lorgnette Spectacles Tortoiseshell

Superb antique Napoleon III or Victorian era shell lorgnette style eyeglasses or spectacles! The lighting doesn’t show off the cognac colored shell very well but it’s there, you can see the natural grain in those with camera flash reflections. I was sitting in the optometrist’s office the other day and there was a “History of Spectacles” poster on the wall and it was quite neat seeing them in a chronological setting of sorts (I sat there saying, “we’ve got that one, that one, that one…..and so on). This a very fine pair, solid tortoise panels front & back with a fob or chatelaine style ring on one end and the thick silver specs at the other end. I can’t see any hallmarks but will look again closely. We’ve priced these as if they’re not sterling though so, don’t miss out!

Very good condition. A bit of tarnish on the spectacle frames and slight loss of gloss to the shell but no chips or cracks to note. See pictures for measurements.

IMPORTANT NOTE regarding antique tortoise shell or ivory: We are great supporters of protection for endangered species in our modern world. We never buy or sell anything 100 years or newer; we donate to anti-poaching organizations; we don’t hunt; we conserve in ways that impact global warming (we’re totally solar at home), knowing those measures also protect the animals in the wild today. We also recognize the vast cultural history we preserve with our care and reverence for these antique objects, and agree with CITES that objects over 100 years of age have nothing whatsoever to do with species depletion in our current world.