A fabulous Victorian Greyhound stickpin.
 
The Greyhound is 'Miss Glendyne' winner of the Waterloo Cup 1885-6.  It has a very long heavy weight gold pin and makes an impact when worn. The stickpin has a fitted box by W Challen of Brighton. The reverse of the head is finely engraved with the details of the winning Greyhound.
 
The reverse carved rock crystal is set within a fine gold rim with a beadwork border. The mother of pearl backing is visible to the reverse of the painting. There is a slight 'foxing' to the painting consistent with age.
 
This technique is made by the rock crystal being cut into a cabochon shape and a detailed design carved into it from the reverse. The image is painted inside the crystal so that when viewed from the front it appears in three dimensions. This technique is known as a “reverse intaglio.” The technique is sometimes referred to as an 'Essex crystal.'
 
The Waterloo Cup was a prestigious coursing event organised by the National Coursing Club. The three-day event was run annually at Great Altcar in Lancashire, England a few miles north of Liverpool, as a knockout competition between 64 pure-bred greyhounds from 1836 to 2005.  It attracted tens of thousands of spectators to watch and gamble on the coursing matches.  Miss Glendyne won the cup on two occasions.
 
In the late 1800s, the Waterloo Cup attracted more spectators during its three-day February meeting than any other event in Britain. It had such considerable gravitas that carrier pigeons conveyed the results to major cities across the country and when news of the winner reached London, the Stock Exchange shut down for the rest of the day.
 
Era: Victorian, 1839 - 1901
Measurements: Essex Crystal 2.3 cm diameter, weight 7 grams 
Pin 8.5 cm in length
Hallmarks: Head engraved "Miss Glendyne winner of the Waterloo Cup 1886/7" 
Unmarked - tests as 15ct gold head and 9ct pin