ST JOHN vintage signed gold tone designer brooch
By St. John
Located in Palos Hills, IL
DETAILS • signed ST JOHN • gold tone • vintage designer brooch MEASUREMENTS • CONDITION • very good vintage condition with minimal signs of wear Sku A66 ❤️❤️ VINTAGE DES...
Vintage ST JOHN signed gold tone designer brooch
By St. John
Located in Palos Hills, IL
DETAILS • signed ST JOHN • gold tone • vintage designer brooch MEASUREMENTS • CONDITION • very good vintage condition with minimal signs of wear Sku 32 ❤️❤️ VINT...
ST JOHN signed vintage gold tone anchor nautical designer brooch
By St. John
Located in Palos Hills, IL
DETAILS • signed ST JOHN logo • gold tone • vintage designer brooch MEASUREMENTS • CONDITION • very good vintage condition with minimal signs of wear Sku 50 ❤️❤️ VINTAGE D...
Natural Pearls and Rose Cut Diamonds on a Silver Over Gold Painted Portrait Pin
Located in Lexington, KY
Silver over gold painted portrait pin This charming Victorian pin features a silver over gold painted portrait of a beautiful woman. One can not help but to wonder what she is think...
Diamond, Natural Pearl, 14k Gold, Silver
Edwardian Platinum Filigree Diamond and Cat’s Eye Moonstone Pin
Located in Lexington, KY
This beautiful Edwardian pin is in platinum with gorgeous pierced filigree set with stunning diamonds and an enchanting cat’s eye moonstone center! The pin has a lovely bar pin layou...
Diamond, Moonstone, Cat’s Eye, Platinum
1920 Edwardian Hand Carved Three Color Shell Cameo in 10 Karat Gold Filigree Pin
Located in Lexington, KY
This is a gorgeous Edwardian three-color shell cameo set into a stunning 10k white gold frame with a lace-like detailing. The carving is absolutely beautiful, featuring the right fac...
10k Gold, White Gold
Art Deco 14 Karat Yellow Gold Hand Painted Essex Crystal Bridle Pin
Located in Lexington, KY
This remarkable Art Deco pin is in 14k yellow gold and features a beautiful hand-painted Essex crystal center in a dramatically angled bridle bit shaped pin. This is the ideal piece ...
Crystal, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1920s Filigree Three Color Shell Cameo in 14K White Gold Diamond Pin Pendant
Located in Lexington, KY
This is a breathtaking 1920s carved three-color shell cameo in a 14k white gold pin pendant. The cameo depicts a gorgeous left-facing woman with flowing hair and beautiful flower acc...
Diamond, 14k Gold, White Gold
1940s Art Deco 14 Karat Yellow Gold Snaffle Bit Bar Stock Crop Pin
Located in Lexington, KY
This is a beautiful Art Deco bar or stock pin in 14k yellow gold with a lovely snaffle bit over a riding crop design! This pin is in excellent condition and is the ideal gift for the...
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Victorian 18 Karat Yellow Gold Sky Blue Enamel Sword Hat Stick Pin
Located in Lexington, KY
This is a fantastic Victorian hat stick pin in 18k yellow gold with gorgeous pale blue enamel detailing. The pin is in the design of a long sword and would have once been used by a f...
18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel
Victorian 15 Karat Yellow Gold Onyx Seed Pearl Bar Pin
Located in Lexington, KY
This is a striking Victorian bar pin in rich black onyx featuring a bright white seed pearl in a star setting at the center of the pin. In a classic Victorian style, the combination...
Onyx, Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Victorian Greek/Roman Medallion Sterling Silver Pin
Located in Lexington, KY
This awesome Victorian pin is in sterling silver and features a Roman-style Homeric medallion at its center, accented by a dramatic bar layout. The medallion at the center bears the ...
Sterling Silver
14 Karat Yellow Gold Emerald and Pearl Circle Pin
Located in Lexington, KY
This is an absolutely beautiful mid-century circle pin with a gorgeous array of pearls and emeralds set into 14k yellow gold. The pearls are stunning-like shimmery silver round mirro...
Emerald, Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage brooches, which refer to decorative jewelry traditionally pinned to garments and used to fasten pieces of clothing together where needed, have seen increasing popularity in recent years.
While jewelry trends come and go, brooches are indeed back on the radar thanks to fashion houses like Gucci, Versace, Dior and Saint Laurent, all of which feature fun pinnable designs in their current collections. Whether a dazzlingly naturalistic Art Nouveau dragonfly, a whimsical David Webb animal, a gem-studded bloom or a streamlined abstract design, these jewels add color and sparkle to your look and a spring to your step.
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. Chanel, of course, has never abandoned this style, producing gorgeously baroque CC examples since the 1980s.
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 for sale on 1stDibs, including gold brooches, sapphire brooches and more.
The care that went into crafting this jewel, with its lifelike carved petals and diamond accents, matches the sentiment it represents.
For starters, it is one of the jewelry designer’s most celebrated works.
Though it sparkles with more than 27 carats of diamonds, this multifaceted gem delivers more than just dazzle.
Stellene Volandes takes us on a glittering, engrossing tour through the centuries.
From cameos to cigar bands, here are the looks on our radar this season.
The philanthropist and heiress was an avid jewelry collector, and her trove of Jean Schlumberger creations embodies the love of nature she shared with the famed designer.