1940s Mauboussin Leaf Brooch

During the roaring ’20s, Paris saw a confluence of wealthy and creative people flock to the city from all over the world, like artists, writers, princes and singers. Designer Georges Mauboussin understood the vibrant and cosmopolitan spirit of the time, and at the jewelry house he would propel to fame, Mauboussin, he became an iconic creator of Art Deco jewelry, using jade, lapis lazuli, pearls and other precious materials imported from around the globe.

The Mauboussin brand owes its success to expertise with precious metals and gems and its illustrious clientele. The fine jewelry house, originally founded in Paris in 1827 as the Maison Noury, is known for being highly experimental with mountings for diamonds, finding inspiration in fields like aeronautics (Georges’s son Pierre Mauboussin got into the airplane engineering business in the late 1920s) and filing patents for many of its inventions.

This modern sensibility drew royal clients from the Middle East and Egypt (Queen Nazli owned several dazzling pieces), as well as Hollywood stars like Marlene Dietrich and Charlie Chaplin. However, its most significant royal relationship was with the stylish maharaja of Indore, Yashwant Rao Holkar II, who designated Mauboussin as his official purveyor in 1933. One of the maison’s legendary pieces for the maharaja is a necklace that uses two of the world’s most beautiful diamonds, the Indore Pears, part of the maharaja’s collection.

In its long history, Mauboussin has found creative and beautiful ways to incorporate the tastes of the time into its luxury jewelry, responding to movements like Cubism as well as crises like the Great Depression when it shifted to more affordable pieces that would be available to a larger audience. (From 1936 to 1953, Mauboussin also partnered with Trabert & Hoeffer to stay afloat following the Wall Street crash.) In the 1990s, the company expanded into perfume and watches. Galeries Lafayette acquired a majority stake in the company in 2019 with the jeweler continuing to showcase a dedication to its French heritage with an international approach to design.

Find a collection of vintage Mauboussin rings, necklaces and other jewelry on 1stDibs.

Antique and vintage brooches, which are decorative jewels traditionally pinned to garments and used to fasten pieces of clothing together where needed, have seen increasing popularity in recent years.

Given their long history, brooches have expectedly taken on a variety of different shapes and forms over time, with jewelers turning to assorted methods of ornamentation for these accessories, including enameling and the integration of pearls and gemstones.

Cameo brooches that originated during the Victorian age are characterized by a shell carved in raised relief that feature portraits of a woman’s profile, while 19th-century micromosaic brooches, comprising innumerable individually placed glass fragments, sometimes feature miniature depictions of a pastoral scene in daily Roman life.

At one time, brooches were symbols of wealth, made primarily from the finest metals and showcasing exquisite precious gemstones. Today, these jewels are inclusive and universal, and you don’t have to travel very far to find an admirer of brooches. They can be richly geometric in form, such as the ornate diamond pins dating from the Art Deco era, or designer-specific, such as the celebrated naturalistic works created by Tiffany & Co., the milk glass and gold confections crafted by Trifari or handmade vintage Chanel brooches of silk or laminated sheer fabric.

Brooches are versatile and adaptable. These decorative accessories can be worn in your hair, on hats, scarves and on the lower point of V-neck clothing. Pin a dazzling brooch to the lapel of your blazer-and-tee combo or add a cluster of smaller pins to your overcoat. And while brooches have their place in “mourning jewelry,” in that a mourning brooch is representative of your connection to a lost loved one, they’re widely seen as romantic and symbolic of love, so much so that a hardcore brooch enthusiast might advocate for brooches to be worn over the heart.

Today, find a wide variety of antique and vintage brooches on 1stDibs, including gold brooches, sapphire brooches and more.