Brooches

  • Saint Esprit

    This brooch is from France. It is made of lead paste crystal & silver. During the 18th century the wearing of religious (Christian) symbols as jewellery was highly fashionable. The most common emblem was a cross, which was often richly encrusted with gems.  But in France peasant women wore crosses in the form of a…

  • Abstract Tree

    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…

  • Flower Fur Clip

    This is a fur clip by Trifari from the 1940s. According to Jude Rudoe’s book ‘Cartier: 1900-39’ double pronged fur clips were used as early as 1928 by Cartier. Fur clips have two sharp pins rather than a bar and hook. Some people veer away from them because the pair of extremely sharp pins can…

  • Mouse in a Tea Pot

    This is a small mechanical brooch.  The mouse goes up and down – so you can just have a straight tea pot or the mouse poking out.  Mechanical jewellery is not uncommon and has been around for decades.  It is closely associated with novelty brooches.  You will find  turning windmill sails, clowns with strings that…

  • Snake

    Christian Dior was born in 1905 in Normandy France.  He opened Maison Dior in Paris in 1946 introducing his ‘New Look’ in 1947. It was a fashion sensation capturing women’s desire for glamour in a post war world, sweeping through Europe and America.  Early pieces of Dior jewellery were designed for specific couture outfits or…

  • Triangle

    Lea Stein brooches are bright and colourful. They are made by layering laminated cellulose acetate sheets and it is this which makes them distinctive and recognisable. It has allowed Lea Stein to use clashing colours and incorporate other elements like lace and gold glitter. Lea Stein started in the 1960s but the majority of the…

  • Painted Lady

    I bought this brooch at a small fair where to be honest most of the jewellery was run of the mill.  But tucked under a pile of medals was this lady.  She is hand painted on porcelain.  The quality of the painting is remarkable given that the surround of the brooch is not gold but…

  • Lizard

    Many cultures see the lizard as symbolic. The Bantu believe if you dream of a lizard it is the foretelling of the birth of a male child. The Ancient Egyptians used a lizard in their hieroglyphics to depict ‘plentiful’. In a Cameroon myth the lizard told mankind there is no life after death. In Christianity…

  • Abstract Square

    I was first introduced to Gail Klevan’s jewellery at the Dazzle exhibition.  This brooch is typical of her work – bright vibrant designs on acrylic. Gail Klevan hails originally from Manchester but studied Jewellery and Silversmithing at the Royal College of Art in London where she won the Bakri Yehia prize for Excellence. Not to…

  • Christmas Reindeer

    This is a modern brooch probably made in the Far East.  Even so, it is well made; the enamel has been carefully done and there are a few paste accents giving some  detail. Rudolph is famous for having a glowing red nose and often referred to as Santa Claus’s 9th Reindeer.  He first appeared in…