Chatelaines were very fashionable in Europe in the second half of the 19th century. But they were also worn extensively with traditional costume in many places, where they are usually called belt hooks, and were associated with traditional women's crafts. The shape and decoration of this chatelaine suggests that it probably falls into this category. Silversmiths who specialised in making traditional jewellery often facetted their silver to imitate the cut-steel which was worn by more fashionable women.

A chatelaine with a double chain, like this, was often used to hold a pair of scissors. Scissors were used for many needlework tasks, but silver chatelaines for scissors were particularly bought by lace-makers, with the money they earned from their skill. They hooked the bars at the ends of the chain through the handles of the scissors, and secured them through the rings in the centre. They needed the scissors constantly at hand to cut the threads they worked with.

This chatelaine was bought for the museum by Senor Riano for 19 shillings and nine pence in Barcelona in 1871.