This brooch is perhaps one of the most elegant in my collection. It is by the designer Andrew Lamb who is based in Scotland. On the face of it. It is a simple design; a silver ring across which fine strips of gold and silver have been placed. But look more carefully, the strips subtly undulate creating a dome in the centre. This is one of those brooches I can wear with almost anything. Andrew’s interest is in Illusion and the mesmerizing visual effects of Optical Art and he finds inspiration in linear patterns and structures. He cleverly designs jewellery which appears to shift and change as the eye moves across it. And my brooch illustrates this perfectly. It had to be photographed twice, the first time the movement that is so intrinsic to the elegance of this brooch was not captured. I would dearly like to own more pieces by Andrew but they are quite expensive.
Andrew’s work is exhibited world-wide and he has received numerous awards.
A Gold Ring designed and made by Andrew Lamb part of the Victoria & Albert Museum permanent collection
Last year I received an email from Andrew asking whether I would help one of his students Caitlin with her dissertation, she was researching into the process of collecting. Right up my street, so I diligently filled in the questionnaire as best I could and sent it off and thought nothing more about it. Then earlier this year I visited the New Designers exhibition, more about this in a future Brooch of the Month, I was chatting to designers and trying on brooches. There was one stunning blue brooch, but I decided not to buy it in the end. A few days later I received an email from Caitlin. It turned out the designer of the blue brooch was none other than Caitlin. If only I’d known.