Unusual Déco Brooch with a Pink Tourmaline and Diamonds, c. 1930

A large, radiant tourmaline weighing over 16 carats shines in the center of this brooch. The natural stone shows only a few light inclusions that float within it like small galaxies. It is set slightly raised in an openwork gallery that surrounds it with shimmering diamond roses. The tourmaline in its precious setting was probably part of a ring that was made ten to twenty years before this brooch was created. The magnificent platinum brooch was then designed around it in the 1930s - and this was achieved perfectly and harmoniously down to the smallest detail. The brooch unfolds as a concave curved frame that is studded all over with diamonds. Fine pierced ornaments structure the large work and take away any heaviness. The elongated oval shape of the brooch and its large format are typical of the years around 1930. The most beautiful jewels of the era are expansive and spectacular, glittering in the light of countless diamonds in platinum. Last but not least, Hollywood also contributed to the spread of this trend: In black and white, platinum and diamond jewellery looked particularly advantageous on cinema screens. The big stars of the era, such as Mae West, even wore some of their own pieces. The bright pink of the stone was also highly sought after at the time. Elsa Schiaparelli, for instance, would call this color "Shocking Pink", which she made fashionable in the 1930s – a bright, strong pink that had nothing sweet about it and was no longer the delicate pastel of the turn of the century. Just like the emancipated woman of the Déco era, shocking pink was confident and bold. It adorned Schiaparelli's cigarette holders and her perfume of the same name, and as late as 1952 she dressed Zsa Zsa Gabor in Shocking Pink for the film Moulin Rouge. The brooch is in very good condition. It comes with an independent certificate confirming the quality of the materials used.

Estimate:£19,698.28

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