Most Swiss women wore decorative hairpins with their traditional costume, which varied from valley to valley. In central and eastern Switzerland they also varied by day. On weekdays the women wore a plain flat hairpin, widening at each end. On Sundays and feast days they exchanged these everyday pins for more decorative ones, like this. These were worn horizontally, or at a slight angle, on the back of the head, stuck through a thick plait. The plait could be made from its owner’s hair, but it was frequently augmented with false hair, or coloured ribbons. These decorative Sunday hair pins grew bigger and bigger throughout the 19th century, reaching a length of over 35cm by around 1900.

This pin is decorated with an elaborate filigree head, mixing plain and gilded silver in a way which is typical of Swiss filigree. It probably comes from the Berne region. It is marked on the front with the initials of an unknown maker, LEO, and other unidentified marks. It was bought for £1 6s at the International Exhibition, London, 1872.