'Cleopatra's Eye' Diamond Set Brooch

Brooch – Diamond Set “Cleopatra’s Eye,” c.1925-1930. American.

Description:
A late 1920s brooch extensively set with 0.80 carats of antique diamonds, centring on an old European-cut brilliant set in a raised collet within a radiating border of fine knife-edge wires, hand-pierced and millegrained. The remainder of the brooch is lightly domed, employing similar pierced work, a crossover motif, and further radiating ornaments. The white setting overlays a yellow undersetting raised with circular cheniers and is secured with a pin and trombone clasp.

Commentary:
The fine pierced work of this brooch conforms to the refined Edwardian taste for lightness and airiness, characterised by the use of platinum and all-diamond settings. The larger size of the brooch reflects a new vogue in the late 1920s for wearing brooches prominently on the shoulder. Where smaller brooches were previously used to fasten a fichu, these larger brooches were purely ornamental. This style is exemplified by the famous 1929 portrait of Marjorie Merriweather Post, painted by Giulio De Blaas in New York. In the portrait (Hillwood Museum, Catalogue No. 51.146), she is depicted wearing a long three-strand pearl necklace and an emerald and diamond shoulder brooch. A more modest example can be found in design 2561 in Diamond Rings for Women by S. Kind & Sons, 1925, New York. This catalogue showcases a selection of “an exquisite assortment of diamond and platinum brooches,” referred to as “shoulder pins,” described as “very popular today.” The illustrated example features the same lozenge outline, centring on a diamond and constructed of platinum and gold.