The Sentimental Brooch
More than all other jewels, the pin and the brooch have attached to themselves sentimental associations and values beyond their intrinsic or artistic worth. A ring may often preserve the memory of a dear person or a cherished occasion, but it is seldom large enough for an actual memento. Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII of England, had a portrait of herself hidden in a ring of diamonds and mother-of-pearl; when she was taken to be executed she gave the ring to her little daughter, who in turn kept it hidden until she ascended the throne as Queen Elizabeth I. But more often such miniatures, set in what was called a picture-box, were worn on a chain or as a brooch. The clip is still too new to have developed these sentimental associations but, being merely a brooch with a modernized fastener, it will no doubt gather to itself a goodly store of memories.
In addition to a miniature portrait or a painting of a familiar scene, such as the country home of one held to a life in the city, the brooch may contain other ties to things beloved. Under a transparent stone or coat of colorless enamel may be pressed a lock of hair. The jewel itself may be shaped so as to symbolize a family—as a coat of arms; or a people—as the maple leaf worn by Queen Elizabeth II, a gift from and a symbol of the Commonwealth of Canada. The lady who launches a ship receives, from the builders or the owners, a diamond pin that is indeed, to her and those that come after her, a precious memento of a signal occasion.
Replicas of Pets
Popular among the special brooches with personal ties are those that represent or memorialize a beloved pet. I have made several portraits of dogs in gold and precious stones, worked so as not merely to resemble the features but in some degree to capture the individual characteristics of the animal. One of these I especially prize, as it evokes, to me and to my family and friends, my own and favorite dog.
In Vienna, our firm was once commissioned by the Emperor Franz Josef I to create a brooch bearing the likeness of one of his great beloved Lippizaner stallions, the one that is immortalized in the novel Florian. This pin contains hundreds of diamonds; those that make up the mane and the tail had to be specially cut and are so small that it takes more than a thousand to make a carat. The Emperor prized the jewel and gave it to his favorite actress, the Baroness von Schratt. After the Baroness’s death, her treasures were sold, and we are happy to state that the jewel horse is now back with the firm that made it.
Pins Hold Memories
Perhaps because of these various associations, it seems that a more personal aura glows about a brooch than any other jewel. It may be merely because a loved one has worn it earlier. A sort of intimate, binding emotion draws one to the jewel, such as no article of clothing, no accessory—scarf, gloves, hair band—can ever work into a spell. Other jewels, especially the ring, may gather associations around them, but preeminently heart-entangling is the brooch.
My grandmother, for instance, on many gay occasions when I was a child, wore high on her collar a beautiful emerald brooch. Long passed from sight and never spoken of, it finally came to me as a family heirloom. And at once my heart quickened with a fresh surge of memory. I had, and still have, a vivid recollection of how she looked when she was wearing it, and many a pleasant time I summon back. I cherish this brooch more and more along the passing years. Thus in many families a treasured and memoried pin holds as a binder between the generations. In these days of widely scattered families, such a brooch can indeed be an endearing tie.