It’s time to get ready for the Brafa (January 29-February 5, Brussels Expo), one of the main European art fairs, which also hosts a selected offer of vintage or designer jewellery. The Italian Barba Bassi, for example, presents a necklace that can be transformed into bracelets by Mario Buccellati, together with two artistic bracelets by Pol Bury and Arman. Bernard Bouisset, on the other hand, will show a ring with a blue sapphire weighing 19.25 carats and a necklace by Van Cleef & Arpels that can be worn as a bracelet and brooch for a total of 50 carats of diamonds. We have already talked about the Nardi gallery here 
At Brafa this year the Belgian gallery Epoque Fine Jewels celebrates its 65th anniversary together with Art Nouveau, the theme of the year. The gallery exhibits a rich collection of jewels among which the precious Peacock diadem by Philippe Wolfers (Brussels, 1858-1929) in gold, silver, diamonds, enamel and opal with a singular history stands out. Patricia De Wit had initially acquired the peacock brooch from descendants of Léopold Kronacher, nee Marie-Laure Brunard (she was decidedly ahead of her time), who had personally commissioned the piece from Philippe Wolfers. The precious peacock was later recognized as the central element of a diadem. The peacock was in fact detachable to be worn as a brooch and traces of the original setting of the diadem had been lost.
Thanks to the image published by a magazine of the time it was possible to reconstruct the jewel that will be presented for the first time at Brafa 2023. Philippe Wolfers often inserted semi-precious stones in his creations: in this case the body of the peacock is carved in an opal , of which he loved the delicate play of color and semi-transparency. According to the archives, the diadem was made in 1902-1903 and is one of the rare unique pieces by the Belgian master, particularly sought after by collectors from all over the world. Philippe Wolfers’ jewels can be found in major museums around the world, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Art (USA), the Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim (Germany) and the Royal Museums of Art & History (Brussels, Belgium).
