Venetian Glass Brooch

Venetian-glass intaglios, ancient Greek and Roman coins, antique porcelain buttons and other treasures that Elizabeth Locke collects from around the world all inspire and are incorporated into her earrings, necklaces and other handmade designs.

The Virginia-based jeweler began her journey as a collector after she’d already launched her namesake jewelry line, and her assemblage of micromosaics, which are essentially miniature plaques composed of enameled-glass tesserae, were the subject of the 2020–21 exhibition “A Return to the Grand Tour: Micromosaic Jewels from the Collection of Elizabeth Locke” at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

“They’re very hard to find, and you never know where you’ll see them,” Locke explains of micromosaics, the magnificent, miniature works for which she’s had to navigate lesser-known antique shops and auctions and build relationships with private dealers in Europe.

All of Locke’s imaginative jewelry pieces see an integration of rare and eclectic materials, the kind that might’ve been amassed during a 19th-century Grand Tour of Europe, when these coming-of-age journeys had long been popular (mostly for wealthy European men). Working in a neoclassical style, Locke references history with a modern approach for her moonstone earrings, gold-link bracelets, Venetian-glass pendants and other distinctive accessories. As she told W magazine, “Jewelry is designed for the era in which it is worn.”

In 1988, as an editor for Town & Country, Locke traveled to Bangkok to write about making jewelry. Unexpectedly, she found her niche. Upon her return home, Locke enrolled in the Gemological Institute of America and began sketching ideas. By 1990, her tourmaline ring — crafted with the goldsmiths she had met in Bangkok and who she would continue to collaborate with over the following decades — landed the cover of W.

Locke’s handmade, 19-karat-gold designs give one-of-a-kind antiquities new meaning in the 21st century. Not one to follow trends, Locke prefers designs that express a unique vision. “I know what I can do and I know what I feel comfortable doing, and I stick to it,” she has said.

Find a collection of Elizabeth Locke’s jewelry on 1stDibs.

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.