1920s

I bought this brooch near 10 years ago from a dealer in America.  When I first saw the brooch it was in a bad way, bent, stones missing and a broken clasp.  So why did I buy a brooch in such a bad state?  It is what is known as a ‘Book Piece’, which means…

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…

These two bugs are from the 1920s.  They are not made of precious materials, their wings are made of celluloid an early form of plastic and the legs are gilt metal.  Paste stones have been added to the head and legs to add glamour and make them sparkle.  Bugs and insects have long been a…

This elegant Bug brooch is from the 1920s. The main body of the bug is made of porcelain and the wings are made of brass.  I would love to say the eyes are rubies but I don’t think they are. Insects have been common motifs in jewellery for many years.  The Victorians who loved all…

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…

This brooch, which is from the 1920s, looks almost exactly the same as a 1966 Trifari brooch which was part of the Starlights Fireworks collection. 1966 Trifari advert showing the Starlights Fireworks collection So was this where the designers at Trifari found their inspiration?  Makes you wonder.  But then again, this classic star design was…