Return of the brooch: bigger, bolder and more beautiful than ever
"Brooches are an amazing way to express personality," enthuses Claire Choisne, creative director of Boucheron, from her light-filled studio above Place Vendôme. "Today, they are one of the most exciting and dynamic decorative accessories – really, a signature of style."
Choisne, it turns out, isn’t alone in her support for a piece of jewellery that has languished in the doldrums for several decades. A return to favour among well-known houses – from Chaumet to Dior, Chanel to Bulgari – has seen them taking pride of place in many collections of late.
Diamond and platinum cascading drop brooch, price on request, Harry Winston. Cotton blazer, £595, Joseph. Textile hat, £450, Loewe
Historically, the brooch was a staple in the jewellery boxes of most women of means. Adornment as a signifier of wealth was the norm, with any self-respecting Victorian or Edwardian pinning one (or a number) around her neckline. Larger brooches known as stomachers would cover the space from décolletage to waist, their bejewelled weight supported by the stiff fabrics and corsets of the time.
18ct yellow- and white-gold, demantoid garnet, jadeite and diamond feather brooch, price on request, Glenn Spiro. Cotton coat, £2,109, Brock Collection at matchesfashion.com
"It was a part of a woman’s wardrobe in the 19th century," says Emily Barber, director of jewellery at Bonhams. However, the relaxing of dress codes after the First World War, and the introduction of lighter fabrics, saw the brooch’s gradual demise. "Women no longer had the upholstery to keep a brooch in place," Barber says. But how things have changed.
18ct white-gold, sapphire and diamond leaf brooch, price on request, David Morris. Embellished dress, £2,250, Bottega Veneta
Van Cleef & Arpels, which has offered brooches for decades – most iconically, its ballerina and fairy clips – created a significant stand-alone collection last year. L’Arche de Noé comprises pairs of animals from toucans to kangaroos, owls to elephants and has grown to 140 clips. Nicolas Bos, CEO and creative director, knew that brooches would be the only way to represent all the animals in the same scale, creating a "consistent overall effect".
18ct white-gold, diamond and rock-crystal feather brooch, price on request, Grima. White-gold, diamond, mother-of-pearl and rock-crystal Bruco brooch, price on request, Vhernier. Fitted jacket, £1,800, Louis Vuitton
The issue of whether all the pieces would sell didn’t even cross his mind. "Brooches have a special versatility due to the fact they can be worn in so many different ways: on clothes, in the hair or on accessories. They’re like miniature sculptures, but with a precious dimension."
This month, Van Cleef & Arpels launched a further collection of nine clips called Lucky Animals that includes a rabbit, hedgehog and hummingbird, rendered in slivers of hard stones such as tiger’s eye and onyx, but this time repeatable, and at a more accessible price point.
18ct white- and yellow-gold, diamond, purple sapphire and jadeite tree brooch, £53,300, Sotheby’s Diamonds. Hammered-satin dress, £1,795, Roksanda
Other jewellers are placing brooches front and centre in their high-jewellery collections in response to renewed demand: a huge tartan bow brooch at Chaumet; a diamond anchor in Chanel’s sailing-inspired offering; an exquisitely delicate leaf skeleton at Boucheron; and three delectable gold and diamond ice lollies at Bulgari, in sapphire, emerald or ruby "flavours", all of which sold immediately on launch.
Sotheby’s Diamonds, meanwhile, has dedicated an entire collection to brooches that sees unusual materials such as amber, jadeite and maw-sit-sit (aka jade-albite) carved into stylised tree trunks, their tips studded with pear-cut diamonds.
18ct white-gold and diamond Mehndi brooch, price on request, Boucheron. Chiffon dress, £1,950, Emilia Wickstead
On the red carpet, the brooch is gaining new favour among celebrities – most spectacularly when Uma Thurman wore a 1948 Cartier diamond peacock at the 2016 Met Ball.
Men are embellishing their black-tie suits with artfully pinned clips, too – Pharrell Williams wore Chanel at the 2017 Academy Awards, while Alexander Skarsgård wore vintage Cartier at the Emmys. And Tiffany & Co’s latest advertising campaign features the American Ballet Theatre’s principal dancer David Hallberg with the Jean Schlumberger-designed "Bird on a Rock" brooch attached to his lapel.
18ct white-gold, opal and diamond Enchanted Palace brooch, £4,000, Garrard. Platinum and diamond dragonfly brooch, £43,400, Tiffany & Co. Cotton riding shirt with detachable neck-tie and pin detail, £495, Burberry
Jewellery designer Shaun Leane, whose own gold beetle brooch is a permanent fixture on his suits, explains their appeal. "A brooch allows you to create a miniature objet d’art – its fixings are so hidden that it permits your canvas to be whatever you want it to be, without the considerations of fitting a finger or the neck. You also have total freedom of application; you can choose where to wear it so it becomes a beautiful object in its own space."
18ct gold-vermeil earrings, £340, All Blues; 18ct yellow-gold, cultured-pearl and diamond brooch, price on request, Jojo Grima; Atlas blouse, £672, Beaufille
Italian jewellery brand Vhernier is renowned for its animal brooches. Crafted using an unusual technique that sees rock crystal layered over other stones, they are made by a single craftsman, who can barely keep up with current demand.
Owner Carlo Traglio sums up the current vogue for this resurgent jewel: "If a woman wears a brooch, it’s the first thing you see when she enters the room. Nothing conveys a greater sign of distinction or elegance."
Best fine jewellery brooches
Model: Adela at IMG Models
Hair: Chris Sweeney using Bumble and bumble
Make-up: Shinobu at CLM Hair & Make-up using Mac Cosmetics
Nails: Lauren Michelle Pires using Chanel Le Vernis in Organdi and La Crème Main
Set design: Joanna Goodman
Photographer’s assistant: Luca Anzalone
Fashion assistant: Harriet Elton
Animal hire: A-Z Animals
Shot at Spring Studios
