Brooches

  • Vase of Sunflowers

    This brooch is by Avon, the cosmetic company founded in 1886 and began marketing jewellery in 1971.  For a short period 1980-1984, Avon owned Trifari.  Avon jewellery does not have an identifiable ‘house style’, it was designed with the mass market in mind and is not particularly high quality.  In 2004 Avon began producing an…

  • Turquoise Sky

    I bought this brooch in 2018 at the new Designers Exhibition in London.  A wonderful showcase for new work in jewellery, textiles, ceramics and much more.  It is by young Scottish designer Claire Mclean  who comes from the small village of Kilbarchan, 15 miles from Glasgow.  Claire did a two-year jewellery course at the city…

  • Heart

    To celebrate Valentine’s day, this month’s brooch is the ‘Heart of Hollywood’ designed by Elizabeth Taylor for Avon.  From 1993 to 1997 Elizabeth Taylor collaborated with Avon in the USA on a collection of costume jewellery. Elizabeth was famous for being meticulous and demanding, she supervised every detail of the design and manufacture of the…

  • Bow

    To celebrate Burns Night (25th January) this month’s brooch is made of Scottish hard stones and gold.  Scottish hardstone jewellery, also known as pebble jewellery, is extremely distinctive, the earthy coloured agates, granite and quartz are instantly recognisable.  The heyday for this type of jewellery was from the early 1800s to the First World War,…

  • Pair of Skis

    This pair of skis is made of solid silver by the American company called Lang Sterling Jewellery Company which was founded in 1946 in Providence, Rhode Island. The company ceased trading in the late 1970s. These cute little skis are from the 1950s. At a time when glitz and glamour were all the rage in…

  • Squirrel

    This small brooch is by the sculpture Harriet Glen who is based in Dorset in the SW of England.  The brooch is made of 18ct gold with a sapphire eye.  Harriet lived in Australia before moving to the UK, she works from nature and her studio overlooks the countryside where she lives.  She is perhaps…

  • Chinese Fingernail Guard

    This brooch is in the form of a Chinese Fingernail Guard. It is made of silver git and is encrusted in precious and semi-precious cabochon stones of ruby, emerald, amethyst, jade with a blister pearl and highlights of enamelling. It is from the 1920s. I bought it at auction and it came in its very…

  • Lion’s Head

    This brooch is by Vendome.  Vendome was a subsidiary of Coro (Fuji Man & Mr & Mrs Squirrel) set up in 1944, taking over from Corocraft.  Both Corocraft and Vendome were the high-end divisions of Coro.  Vendome was popular during the 1960s when Helen Marion became their principle designer. Following the Second World War, Vendome…

  • Recycle Upcycle

    What is special about this pair of brooches?  On the face of it, nothing.  So why have I chosen these two brooches to feature as a Brooch of the month?  Well, let me tell you their story.  They started life as a pair of dress clips, made in the 1930s from plastic and decorated with…

  • Chrysanthemum Flower

    This brooch is large and amazingly three dimensional. It is made by the Japanese design company Monocircus. The company was founded by Kazunori Takeishi and Lim Shing Ee in 2011. Kazunori was born in Fukui, Japan and originally graduated as an architect, while Lim comes from Singapore and studied Art. Their philosophy is to make ‘wearable’…