Jewel Purpose
The two brooches pictured were given to me by my grandmother, 50 years ago. She was born in Hungary in 1886 and moved to Paris in the 1930s a!er she married, so I am guessing that the brooches are French.
The "oral brooch is enamelled 935 sterling silver with marcasite stones. There is a 935 mark on the back but the rest is blurred.
The ‘ruby’ design looks as if it was made into a brooch by having copper-coloured stems on both sides added, or could it be silver? Are the two larger stones rhinestones or garnets? It is #$ed with a dainty chain and safety guard on the back.
I would appreciate your experts’ advice as to the origin, age and value of these two lovely brooches. Anne e Driesen, via email The silver brooch with polychrome enamel !owers was probably made around the 1940s and is likely to be Swiss. The 935 mark would indicate high-grade silver. The !owers also look of Alpine origin – the marcasite decoration is made from the mineral white iron sulphide. The brooch was probably made to satisfy the tourist market and I’d suggest an auction estimate would be around £20-£30.
The second brooch was produced around 1905 and appears to be made of rose gold with high copper content and platinum. The red stone looks like a cabochon-cut ruby with central old brilliant-cut diamond and rose-cut diamond embellishments. Due to the lack of hallmarks, the brooch is not French, but is almost certainly continental judging from the brooch system. I’d estimate £60-£70 at auction. MB