Caroline's Jewelry with a Past is offering an engraved Art Deco era pocket or purse mirror in sterling silver, c. 1920. This simply engraved piece is round with vertical engraved lines ending in an elaborately engraved handle. There is a square cartouche in the center of the mirror with a fraternal organization marking sin Greek of "Phi Kappa Alpha". It measures 3-5/8" through the handle and the mirror's framework is 2-1/2" in width. The mirror itself is approximately 2" in diameter. The frame around the mirror and both sides of the handle are secure. The piece has a "diamond" mirror with some hazing, commensurate with age. The mirror weighs 29.7 grams. There is an unknown maker's mark + "Sterling" + item number of "2894".

A diamond mirror is not really made of diamonds, but is created using silver. Melted silver was poured over the reverse of a piece of glass. Since this early method did not coat evenly, experimentation using various elements was tried. It was learned that mercury added to the silver would help the mixture to spread evenly across the glass. Eventually the mercury evaporated and the silver was left leaving a "diamond dust" like surface.

Ladies small bags were the rage from the turn of the 20th. century. Chatelaines had held sway up until that time. To offset the loss of the useful tools of the chatelaine, miniature mirrors, fans, coin purses and compacts were added to ladies bags.