Collar necklaces such as this one were at the height of fashion toward the end of the Victorian era. This c. 1880 necklace is a product of the Victorian era's Aesthetic Movement, a period known for its whimsical designs and minimal renderings of Far Eastern nature scenes. Fashioned in pinchbeck (highly unusual as this style is nearly always seen in silver), the collar is a fancy heavy link chain with scalloped edges. The large octagonal locket features a naturalistic tranche de vie depicting an exquisitely rendered heron at the edge of a pond.