Brooches

  • Diver

    I couldn’t let August go by without some reference to London 2012 and what better image than a graceful diver. This brooch is by the American Jewellery Chain (AJC). I have been unable to find much about AJC, other than they were in production from 1927 to at least 1997. There is a good deal…

  • Enamel Fish

    With all the rain we are having, I decided a fish would be an appropriate brooch for wet July. This enamel brooch was manufactured by A H Darby & Son, who were based in Birmingham. It is hallmarked for 1946. After WWII materials for luxury items were in scarce supply in the UK. It is…

  • Crown for the Jubilee

    For the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee I have chosen a Trifari Crown as this month’s brooch. Trifari was a prolific designer, Gustavo Trifari emigrated from Naples to New York in 1904. In the 1930s Trifari was the second largest costume jewellery producer in the US and by the 1950s the status of the firm…

  • Elegant Green Flower

    May is the month of the Chelsea Flower Show so I have picked out from my collection one of my flower brooches. It was made by Albert Weiss who set up his company in New York in 1942, Albert retired in the 1960s when his son took over the business which finally closed down in…

  • Pair of Swans

    I bought this brooch when we were on holiday in Finland in 2011. We had been to visit Sibelius’s House, Ainola forty km outside Helsinki, a modest house set in a clearing overlooking a lake. The brooch is made of silver by Tiagakoru based in the Arctic Circle. When I am traveling I try wherever…

  • Feather Fur Clip

    I don’t often buy Fur Clips, they are difficult to wear and strictly speaking they are not brooches. As their name suggests they were designed to be worn on fur coats and stoles and usually have two sharp pins that would have been pushed directly into the pelt. But this one with is curve like…

  • Cherubs & Angels

    This brooch can also be worn as a pendant. I am not sure where it was made, possibly in France. It is made of silver and the stones are garnet with split pearls. There are eight little cherubs or angels. I bought it from my friends Sue & Alan at Scarab Antiques who often have…

  • Four Circles

    Ulli Kaiser uses vintage beads in her jewellery. Each piece is a one off, so I know I will not see anyone else wearing this brooch. The different texture of each of the circles is what attracted me. One is felt, one is tight small beads, one is loose beads that move just a little…