South Sea Pearl Brooches

In the 1990s when the Dutch collective Droog introduced international leaders of late 20th-Century functional art such as Ron Arad, Marcel Wanders, Jurgen Bey, Hella Jongerius, and Tejo Remy, the Netherlands-based brand was one of the most successful producers of conceptual design. The collaboration was co-founded in 1993 in Amsterdam by the jewelry and product designer Gijs Bakker (b. 1942), who commissioned his protege French artist Frederic Braham in 1998 to create this one-of-a-kind brooch for his young Droog-represented jewelry line "Chi ha paura...?". The Italian phrase means "who is afraid of?". This natural satin-lustre South Sea black-Tahitian 15 x 10 mm baroque thick-nacred pearl, which is bezel-set in oxidized sterling on a sharp silver stud for push-back fastening as a lapel or tie pin, is surrounded by a removable textured gold disk brooch with the Chiapaura maker's mark, artist's signature, abbreviated year and assay symbol. Notably, while farmed pearls from this French-Polynesian region are scarce, it is rarer to find one over 12mm. This dark gray one is also exceptional for its desirable secondary tone of peacock green with minimal surface imperfections. From normal use, the unseen back of the disk is missing chips of ecru enamel where it contacts the fastening knob. This reveals that the disk is solid gold. Like other functional conceptual design represented by Droog, the brooch is more than a beautiful piece of fine jewelry featuring multiple contrasting elements, as it could be a provocative "third nipple" if worn on a tie or scarf. Given the Dutch origin of the brand, we recall the famous 15th-Century oil-painting by Johannes Vermeer, known as "Girl with a Pearl Earring". Who is afraid of girl or boy with a third nipple? We acquired this brooch from a jewelry collector who had purchased it from the Italian gallery...

Beautifully detailed 18 karat yellow gold bee brooch. The brooch is intricately set with square cut rubies and round brilliant diamonds. The wings are set with sugarloaf cabochon ame...

A beautifully designed 18 karat yellow gold bee brooch. The bee's wings are set with round brilliant diamonds and cabochon rubies. The body is set with a 12 x 8.5 mm South Sea Pearl ...

18 karat yellow gold bee brooch. This lovely brooch is beautifully designed with a body of invisibly set rubies and a South Sea pearl. The wings and head are composed of round brilli...

This stunning, fine and impressive vintage pearl and pink tourmaline brooch has been crafted in 18k yellow gold. This substantial tourmaline an...

Adorable 18K white gold diamond and South Sea pearl monkey pin, set with 78 full cut round diamonds weighing approximately 1.17cts and one South Sea 9.8mm.

Two Elegant & Finely detailed vintage Bumble Bee pins, each set with approximately 0.3747ctw in G/VS diamonds, enhancing the wings and body, a 1...