Brooches

  • Owl in Flight

    This beautifully cast silver gilt brooch is by the gold and silversmith Lexi Dick.  It is hallmarked for London and dated 2002.  I bought it from Richard Ogden who at the time had a wonderfully old-fashioned shop in Burlington Arcade.  Lexi studied at the Royal College of Art and is a  Liveryman of the Goldsmiths’…

  • Floral Square

    The Fashioncraft Jewelry Co. was founded by Robert Levy, David Jaffee and Irving Landsman in New York in 1942 and this is when the mark Original by Robért is first recorded. In 1951 Irving Landsman left the company and the name was changed to Robert Originals Inc.  The company’s early pieces are very reminiscent of…

  • Constellation

    This is brooch is by the American designer Eve Kaplin.  It is part of her Mechanical series.  The brooch has various rivets and different shaped loops which allow it to move.  This means as a wearer you can adjust the position of the various elements to suit personal taste and whim.  This is sometimes known…

  • Multi Circles

    What is not obvious from the photograph of this brooch is its sheer size.  It measures 12cm (5”) which even by my standards is a large brooch.  But despite its size it is surprisingly light, this is because it is made of plexiglass, a type of acrylic. Formespazioroma was established in 2006, in the countryside…

  • Asymmetrical Bow

    This brooch is by the Swedish designer Rey Urban.  Rey was born in Stockholm Sweden on 14th September 1929 to Gustav and Sirri.  In 1947 he went to Konstfackskolan, the largest independent university in  Sweden for the study of art, design and crafts opened in 1844.  At Konstfackskolan he studied metal work and graduated in…

  • Flaming Torch

    This brooch is by the American designer Jay Feinberg, who was born in Woodmere a suburb of New York in 1960.  In 1981 Jay was a student at Rhode Island School of Design and it is here that he started making necklaces for his mother.  These proved to be popular and were sold in a…

  • Dove with Olive Branch

    This brooch is by Swedish company G. Dahlgren & Co made of silver and from the 1940s.  Gustav Dahlgren founded the company in 1845, in Malmö in southern Sweden.  Malmö is a port town almost directly opposite Copenhagen and one has to wonder whether Dahlgren’s work influenced Georg Jensen the well-known Danish designer who established…

  • Night and Day

    Why am I displaying two similar brooches?  Unusually for me I bought these two brooches within days of each other.  The one on the left I bought at auction in Yorkshire, UK and the one on the right from a dealer online based in Westchester New York, USA.  And only this year I saw another…

  • Heart

    This rather magnificent heart is by the designer Christian Lacroix.  It is made of gilt metal with semi-precious stone and glass beads and was made in France.  Christian Marie Marc Lacroix was born in Arles in Southern France on 16 May 1951, he was an only child.  In 1969 Christian moved to Montpelier to study art…

  • Liquorice Allsorts

    This brooch is made of felt; I don’t know who designed or made the brooch.  I bought it from  an American dealer but given its clear association with Basset’s Allsorts I wonder whether it was originally made in the UK.   I love the bright colours and 3 dimensions to the design. Felt making is an…