Vintage genre brooches. Brooch for those who love sewing maching, quilters. Vintage Antique style Brooch Pin with charms

When we imagine a vintage brooch, it is a sparkling with rhinestones volumetric decoration of 1950-60s, or elegant brooch with pendants in the Victorian style. But there are some vintage brooches of less well-known ornaments. The fact is that many well-known jewelery brands made special “genre” decorations depicting figures of fun or everyday objects that symbolize something. The main purpose of these Vintage genre brooches was to create a good mood. Especially popular cheap but charming “genre” brooches were in 1970, these brooches were symbols of a particular profession or hobby – brooch in the form of a school board and the globe for teachers, brooch in the form of a typewriter to the Secretary, brooch or pin for the needlework or craft enthusiasts.
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Scottish Luckenbooth brooch

Luckenbooth brooch is an ancient symbol of Scotland, and a traditional symbol of love and fidelity. The brooch received its name from the small shops – luckenbooths, located near the Cathedral of St. Giles. In Luckenbooths sold jewelry and other handicraft products of the XVI century. The first brooches were very small in size. It was believed that they could protect people from the evil eye and the influence of evil forces. Also stated that they could help new mothers, nursing mothers and infants.
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Baroda pearl carpet (detail)

March 19, 2009, occurred an event, the news of which appeared on many news sites around the world. At the auction house Sotheby’s in Doha, Qatar, was sold a carpet of Baroda, a unique example of pearl embroidery. Carpet of 1,73m to 2,64m in size, embroidered with beads, pearls and adorned with precious stones – emeralds, rubies and diamonds set in gold. Experts estimated that for every square decimeter of carpet were used nearly 5,000 pearls and beads. Overall, the silk fabric was embroidered with around 2.2 million pearls and beads. History of Baroda pearl carpet is just as amazing as it is. Pearl carpet was created in the early 1860s, on the orders of one of the richest Indian Maharaja – the ruler of Baroda Khanda Rao.
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Enameled thistle brooch with clear and purple tiny rhinestones, light enamel wear. Ralph DeRosa costume jewelry

History of Ralph DeRosa costume jewelry, exceptional in quality and design, began in sunny Naples, Italy in 1884. Inherited the family business, Ralph de Rosa, a hereditary jeweler successfully conducted his business until 1905. As a man who wanted to significantly expand his own horizons, in the beginning of the last century, he left for America – “the land of opportunities”. Despite all the difficulties awaiting immigrant started from scratch. He founded the company under his own name already in 1934 – the Ralph DeRosa Company. The next year, already in 1935, the first collection of the master – “Meeting in Venice” saw the light. The collection was dedicated to one of the most subtle, complex, romantic Crafts – Venetian lace.
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Brooch Pendant with nymph, made in the workshop of Catalan jeweler Lluis Masriera. (Courtesy Balcli’s)

Lluis Masriera i Roses (Barcelona, 17 January 1872 to 21 October 1958) – goldsmith, painter, set designer, playwright and theater director. He was the most important member of the Masrieras family because he continued the family tradition in the third generation, as a painter and goldsmith, and gave an international fame to it. The artist jeweler made his contribution as enameller in the technique of plique-A- jour, and the creator of Barcelona enamel of extreme fragility and beauty. His personal style was based on Art Nouveau influences of Rene Lalique. He made exhibitions in Barcelona, Zaragoza, Madrid, Paris, Buenos Aires and San Francisco, both as a goldsmith and artist.
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Most famous hatter Mr John hats

The most famous hatter in 1950s was German born American fashion designer John P. John (1902-1993), who worked under the name Mr John. As stated by “New York Times” in the 1940s and 1950s, Mr. John hats were no less popular than Christian Dior dress. This name is associated with elegance and style. Hollywood studios ordered him hats for stars such as Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford. Among his clients were the Duchess of Windsor, Lauren Bacall, Gloria Swanson. The most famous work of John for the movie were hats for “Gone With the Wind”, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, and “The Painted Veil”. Ladies of high society, wives of millionaires, actresses, opera singers – all dreamed about his hats. At the peak of his career, John P. John produced annually 16,000 hats under different brand names.
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Precious umbrella handles

Archaeologists claim that there were umbrellas in the XI century BC. This very time is considered the invention of the familiar to us and quite mundane object. Some scientists believe the birthplace of umbrella is China, others – Egypt, as in both countries it obviously was considered a symbol of power. In Egypt, umbrellas used only by Pharaoh, and in China – the emperors and those close to them.
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