Cartier | Lapis Lazuli, Coral, Emerald and Diamond Brooch, France 卡地亞 青金石配珊瑚、祖母綠及鑽石別針

For a brooch of similar design, see Cartier 1900-1939 by Judy Rudoe, page 219.

Please note this property cannot be shipped internationally due to endangered species materials.

#TheBroochisBack

Is the brooch back? Was it ever really out? Perhaps just waiting in the wings for a second act.



Without question, the brooch is the purist form of the jeweler’s art. It offers a totally unencumbered opportunity for expression without the constraints of fitting to a finger, wrist or neck. It affords great potential for three-dimensional renderings; if you can draw it, you can represent it in a brooch. 

In order to embrace the brooch’s full potential, one must remember that it may be worn in a wide variety of ways. No need to stick to the lapel. Empress Elisabeth of Austria dressed her legendary locks with a galaxy of diamond starbursts. Mrs. Cole Porter wore her Cartier scarab brooch as a belt buckle. Princess Ira Fürstenberg wore a series of Tiffany dragon brooches—one offered here as lot 50—draped across her bare belly on gold chains. And who can forget Sarah Jessica Parker securing her GAP cardigan with a cluster of brooches at her hip, or adorning her evening glove at the Met Ball with a line of Victorian stunners?