I have wanted a luckenbooth for a long time. When I came across this one on Amazon, I thought it was great. Why only 4 stars? On the good side, the pin is well made. The actual luckenbooth is thick and strong and so is the pin that you will use to attach the brooch to your garment. I am currently using this as a decorative touch on a plain purse. The pin pierced both the purse fabric and the purse's interior liner with no problem, and it is attached very securely. The downsides? 1) There is no bale or loop on the luckenbooth so that you can wear it as a pendant. This was mentioned in the description, and I though that was convenient that I could wear the brooch two different ways. The product's description is incorrect -  there is no bale or loop for a necklace to pass through. 2) The luckenbooth is not shiny whatsoever. From the pictures, it looks very shiny like sterling silver. I am not sure where the "silver plating" comes in here, but mine is the color of pewter. Now, pewter has a tendency to blacken when tarnished, and this pin is made of very bright pewter. I did polish it when it arrived, and there was no tarnish. But it is not shiny like silver at all. I like the brooch very much, but I am disappointed that it is not shinier. I wanted others to be aware of these facts before purchase.