Vintage Brooch With Amethyst in Gilt Silver, Theodor Fahrner ca. 1965

The Pforzheim jewellery manufacturer Theodor Fahrner made artists' jewellery affordable because he combined modern forms with democratic materials. He did not create individual pieces for a small elite, as was the case with Lalique or Cartier. Instead, the designs were mass-produced in silver, decorated with enamel, marcasites, and occasionally precious stones. Jewelers and department stores throughout Europe sold the jewellery, which Fahrner advertised extensively in journals and magazines: "Fahrner jewellery - based on designs by the best artists" allowed every woman to participate in a modern life full of beauty. The present brooch, for example, is a modernist design of the years around 1965, characterized by strong texture and modernist abstraction. Designs in this style popularized designers such as Marianne Ostier and Andrew Grima - but their pieces were in quite luxurious price segments. By not skimping on the design itself, yet executed in gold-plated silver rather than solid gold, set with amethyst rather than diamonds, mass-produced rather than one-of-a-kind, Fahrner's brooch became affordable. Salesmen with large sample cases presented Fahrner's innovations, developed in Pforzheim, to local jewellers. One such sample case full of unworn Fahrner jewellery has lain untouched in an attic for the last 40 years or more until we were able to purchase it. It contained samples of almost all series from about 1919 until the dissolution of the company in 1979. The brooch presented here is therefore also unworn and is therefore in the best condition - a piece of jewellery history of the 20th century. Fahrner jewellery is popularly collected and the gold jewellery pieces are rare and sought after. Discover all other pieces of Fahrner jewellery offered by us at this place. A wonderful overview is offered by the catalogue "Theodor Fahrner. Schmuck zwischen Avantgarde und Tradition", edited by Brigitte Leonhardt and Dieter Zühlsdorff, Stuttgart 2005.

Estimate:£274.22

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