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How to choose the brooch




The brooch is back in fashion: but how to choose it? ♦ ︎

Who knows why, the brooch has gone through years of oblivion. Forgotten, neglected, even despised. The brooch was seen as the jewel that grandmother used, an heirloom to keep in the drawer if it is a special inheritance or, at most, a decoration to wear if the object has a particular meaning, such as initials, the symbol of some importantly, a jewel associated with special events. Until yesterday. Because the brooch is back in fashion, rightly awakened from the deep sleep in which it had been asleep. Great jewelery houses have proposed luxurious brooches based on gold, diamonds and precious stones. But even the small brands have decided that the brooch has every right to be a jewel to be displayed on an item of clothing such as jackets, blouses, shirts or dresses.

Ai Tominaga con una spilla della collezione The Japanese Sense of Beauty
Ai Tominaga con una spilla della collezione The Japanese Sense of Beauty by Mikimoto

And it does not mean that the brooches have to be made of precious metal such as platinum or gold. There are also interesting brooches in bronze or silver. Mind you: nothing so new. On the contrary, it is a precious recovery: the use of brooches was already in fashion among the ancient Romans and Greeks, but also among the Celts and the Etruscans. And, going even further in time, the oldest brooches found in Europe are those of the Bronze Age.

Indossato di una delle 12 principesse della fiaba «Le scarpe logorate dal ballo», spilla
Indossato di una delle 12 principesse della fiaba «Le scarpe logorate dal ballo», spilla di Van Cleef & Arpels

How to choose the brooch? There are different types of brooches. To distinguish them, it is good to consider what their use will be. Because a brooch can be worn simply as a jewel on which to focus the gaze, with an exclusively aesthetic function. But a brooch can also be used to lock a scarf, to close two flaps of a dress, to shorten a too deep neckline. In short, before choosing a brooch, think about what the use of the jewel or simple bijoux will be. In addition, the shape of the brooch must also be consistent with use: a precious jewel, to be displayed on an elegant dress, can also have a slightly more complicated closure. On the contrary, if a brooch is to be pleasant, but also practical, it must be carefully tried before purchase: it must open and close easily.

Spilla in argento rodiato, cubic zirconia neri, smalto bianco
Spilla in argento rodiato, cubic zirconia neri, smalto bianco by Misis

Style. There is no classic style for brooches. Indeed, the jewelers have indulged the imagination in creating the strangest and most surprising shapes. The brooch is a jewel that must attract attention, so you must not resign yourself to choosing an inconspicuous piece, unless it is a minimal geometry that is part of a more comprehensive way of dressing. Of course, for an elegant evening a gold and diamond brooch is the most classic choice. Flowers, fruits, animals, art deco colors: you can find all kinds of brooches and they are all right. The choice has a single restriction: the jewel must represent the personality or state of mind of the wearer.

Suzanne Belperron, spilla mélange con acquamarina, rubino e diamanti montati in oro giallo
Suzanne Belperron, spilla mélange con acquamarina, rubino e diamanti montati in oro giallo

Spilla Noeud in oro bianco, lacca e diamanti, girocollo Ruban in oro biancio e diamanti. Photo: Boucheron
Spilla Noeud in oro bianco, lacca e diamanti, girocollo Ruban in oro biancio e diamanti. Photo: Boucheron

Spilla con due perle di Tahiti
Spilla con due perle di Tahiti by Buccellati

Spilla con diamanti, cacholong e titanio
Spilla con diamanti, cacholong e titanio di Jar

Spilla in oro bianco, diamanti, lapis e cristallo di rocca
Spilla in oro bianco, diamanti, lapis e cristallo di rocca di Vhernier

Spille di Mikimoto
Spille di Mikimoto







Jewelry and design, who is the owner of the style?




To what extent can it be said that a style has been copied? It is a problem that haunts (also) those involved in fashion or jewelry. Of course, it is difficult to prove that a gold chain is an exclusive design. But there are other shapes that become symbolic for a brand, such as the panther by Cartier, the five-lobed flower by Pasquale Bruni, or the Tiffany blue color. Can these iconic shapes be used? American jeweler David Yurman thinks not and has filed a lawsuit in New York City federal court against Canadian jewelry brand Mejuri. The accusation: having copied many of the jewels that characterize the American brand, violating intellectual property rights.

A sinistra, il bracciale Pure Form di David Yurman. A destra, il bracciale Crôissant Dome by Mejuri
A sinistra, il bracciale Pure Form di David Yurman. A destra, il bracciale Crôissant Dome by Mejuri

Davi Yurman, a Maison founded in the 1980s by David and Sybil Yurman, has established itself thanks to some jewels with the typical shape of a twisted spiral cable. Although, it must be added, that the same type of jewel has been used by others, for example, by brands such as the Swiss Charriol. David Yurman, however, accuses Mejuri of having reproduced without variations his jewels from the Pure Form and Sculpted Cable collections. In fact, David Yurman and Mejuri’s jewels are almost identical.

Anello in oro Pure Form di David Yurman
Anello in oro Pure Form di David Yurman

So basically, no one can accuse you of copying a pair of gold hoop earrings, but if they are in the shape of a braided cord you could be in trouble. Among other things, the lawsuits for counterfeiting in the world of jewelry are not new. David Yurman herself in recent years has obtained $ 1.5 million thanks to a lawsuit against companies that sold counterfeit jewelry on the web. Now, however, there is a question of style and incorrect behavior at stake. For example, David Yurman hired an influencer to wear his jewelry. And two weeks later Mejuri engaged the same influencer for a social media campaign.

Orecchini Crôissant Dome di Mejuri
Orecchini Crôissant Dome di Mejuri

Mejuri co-founded in 2015 by Noura Sakkijha. She was born and raised in Jordan, she immigrated to Canada at 23, where she earned an MBA in industrial engineering. In a few years you have built a company specializing in affordable jewelry. If the success is also to be attributed to a casual use of other people’s ideas, the judge will decide.

Noura Sakkijha
Noura Sakkijha







Victorian style for Maman et Sophie

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Maman, Sophie and Queen Victoria. The autumn winter collection of one of the emerging brands of Italian jewelry, in fact, is inspired by the style of England in the second half of the nineteenth century. Pendants with an inlaid opening heart, which can contain a confidential or secret message, chiseled metal. The new collection, which has chosen to debut at VicenzaOro September, follows the success of the collection inspired by the theme of the Phoenix and, more generally, by the world of nature and animals, as in the case of the protection of the tiger, a protected species.

Collana con cuore apribile
Collana con cuore apribile

The Yanez Collection of the brand founded in 2008 by Elisabetta Carletti, who left her career as a lawyer for jewelry, not only wants to represent a gritty animal with elegant movements, but also tells about the Save The Tiger project aimed at protecting an animal at risk of extinction. Maman et Sophie has also grown thanks to the 18-karat gold Avrvm, both very popular with the public, and to a corporate reorganization that allowed it to cope with the increased volumes distributed in 250 jewelers. And this growth gave the input to develop a line of jewelry dedicated to the Victorian style.
Anelli in stile vittoriano
Anelli in stile vittoriano

Collana in stile vittoriano
Collana in stile vittoriano

Collana di Maman et Sophie
Collana di Maman et Sophie

Anello a forma di tigre
Anello a forma di tigre