Traditional jewellery often preserves forms and designs which date back many centuries, and have long been outdated in fashionable jewellery. The ring brooch is a typical example. Circular and heart-shaped ring brooches are medieval in origin and were used throughout northern Europe with traditional dress. They differ from modern brooches in the way they fasten. The wearer pulls the cloth of the garment through the central hole, and then spears it with the pin. The greater the strain on the pin, the more secure the fastening.

In Sweden, heart-shaped ring brooches like this mainly come from the north. The chain with pendants on the end is unusual, but Swedish women started to wear linked shawl pins with traditional dress in the 19th century. The lozenge-shaped pendants are characteristically Nordic.