Brooches

  • George and the Dragon

    This brooch is made of silver gilt with amethyst, peridot and garnet.  It depicts George and the Dragon. The original Saint George was a Greek soldier who fought for the Roman emperor Diocletian as a member of the Praetorian Guard.  He died in 303 having been sentenced to death for refusing to recant his Christian…

  • Braille

    This set of brooches is by the Norwegian designer Rasmussen (sometimes you will see it written as Knut A Rasmussen or Knut Andreas Rasmussen).  The KA Rasmussen company was started in 1872 as a goldsmith’s workshop.  I cannot find out much about Rasmussen jewellery but the company is still going today and are the largest…

  • Dangle

    This wonderful brooch was made by the Miriam Haskell company, and designed by Frank Hess in the early 1940’s.  Although unsigned, it has many distinctive characteristics which identify it as Haskell.  Besides the striking, gold plated cascade of leaves and spheres, which makes a delightful sound when worn, one can look at the back of…

  • Ten Boats’ Keels

    This brooch is surprisingly large, at 8cm across and made of silver.  The simplicity and sharpness of the design immediately attracted me, usually when I am considering purchasing a brooch I ponder for a while.  I might place it on a ‘wish list’ or continue to wander around a fair before making a final decision. …

  • Valentines Heart

    Joan Rivers was born Alexandra Molinsky on 8th June 1933 in Brooklyn New York and died on 4th September 2014 in New York.  She had a long and varied career as a comedian, writer, actress, TV show host and producer.  In 1990 she began her jewellery collection working with the designer David Dangle.  The Joan Rivers…

  • Florida

    This month’s brooch is by the Florida artist Olive Commons.  Olive was already an established artist when she moved to Florida with her husband Arthur in the early 1930s.  The story goes that Olive’s new house had windows on all sides looking out over the iconic Florida landscape.  As a present for a friend Olive…

  • Christmas Tree

    This brooch is from Estonia made during the Communist era.  It was at a time when materials were scarce.  So, this brooch and the others I bought are made of what would be described in an auction catalogue as ‘white metal’ a low grade of silver, not the 925 standard we have in the UK…

  • Chandelier

    This brooch is made with Swarovski crystals giving it a unique and fabulous sparkle.  It was made by Lobmeyr in Austria.  The brooch is based on the famous New York Met Sputnik chandeliers and when the Met moved to its new home at the Lincoln Centre in 1966 the original brooch was made as a…

  • The Owl and the Moon

    This small owl is made of carved ‘Bog Oak’ with glass eyes.  If you look closely you can see how the carver has indicated the plumage of the owl, this can’t have been easy as ‘Bog Oak’ is a particularly hard material.  During the mid to late nineteenth century the majority of ‘Bog Oak’ jewellery was…

  • Fuji Man

    This brooch is known as Fuji man.  It can be found in a number of reference books, which allows it to be accurately dated to 1942.  Coro was one of the largest and most prolific costume jewellery manufacturing and wholesale companies in the United States. Fuji man was originally attributed to Adolph Katz, but he was…