Glamorous Gold and Diamond Midcentury Brooch, c. 1950s

This glamorous vintage brooch made of high-carat gold looks as light as real feathers, that's how soft it appears. And yet, weighing around 11 grams and set with 73 diamonds, it is an extremely precious object. Its shape is part of an ancient tradition. The desire to adorn oneself with feathers is as old as man himself. Decorating hats, fans, accessories and entire dresses with feathers was very fashionable in Europe at the end of the 19th century. Feathers from exotic birds were particularly popular, as hardly any hat was complete without heron feathers, the long tail feathers of birds of paradise or the bushy feathers of ostriches - some over a metre long, some tiny and in all the colors of the rainbow. Fortunately, no endangered bird was harmed in the making of this beautiful brooch in the shape of two intertwined feathers; instead, it gleams in warm gold. 47 small diamonds adorn its two quills and a further 20 diamonds are set randomly on the feathers. The gemstones are effectively set in platinum so that they sparkle particularly beautifully in bright white. The brooch was created in the 1950s and came to us from Hamburg. Now it is waiting to adorn a blazer for an exciting premiere, a beautiful evening dress for a cocktail evening or a pretty costume for an elegant dinner - without a guilty conscience! For dating, see a similarly crafted brooch at: David Bennet and Daniela Mascetti: Understanding Jewellery, Woodbridge 2010, p. 391

Estimate:£2,200.02

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