I bought this brooch a few years ago at an antiques fair in London. All the dealer could say was it might come from Finland.
And so my detective work began.
This brooch was made by a small company Pirkan Kulta Oy, based in Tampere in Southern Finland. The company was established by Arvi Halinen and Leo Torikainen and produced jewellery between in 1949 and 1993. They employed six goldsmiths and one stonesetter. My brooch was designed in 1963 by master goldsmith Leo Torikainen and made by goldsmith Pauli Raineranta. It was part of a small series made with moss agate and silver. Silver features strongly in all Finnish twentieth century jewellery. The jewellery is sometimes accented with semi-precious stones but enamelling is not a characteristic.
I would like to thank leimat.fi who have been most helpful in tracking down information about Pirkan Kulta Oy.
This Brooch of the Month is dedicated to my dear friend Richard Vine who died on 30th June. It was Richard who suggested I should showcase my own collection of brooches more on the website. I knew Richard for thirty seven years and he lived for many years in Scandinavia.