Early History of Brooch Jewelry

Brooches began as pins, and the pin is a very ancient institution. Mr. and Mrs. Caveman chose long, spiky thorns and sharp fish bones to fasten their primitive fur coats, and when clothes began, pins were made for ornamentation as well as use. Way, way back, Bronze Age Man made, crude metal pins, and early Egyptians fashioned stiletto pins to keep hair styles in place.

Brooches as we know them began to appear during the 1st and 2nd centuries B.C. and consisted of a round disc decorated with enamel and jewels, with a pin set behind. Not until the Middle Ages, when the great Guilds came into being did the work of the goldsmiths bring the brooch to perfection. Renaissance jewellers were goldsmiths fashioning articles of beauty from precious metal, making pieces of sculpture richly enamelled and encrusted with diamonds and precious stones used merely as sparkling addition.

In the 17th century precious stones began to be appreciated for their beauty for the first time and from then on, diamond jewelry as we understand it began to appear.

.....And we thought that Grandma's brooch was old!

Vintage and Antique Jewelry Research Information