Antique & Vintage Brooches for Sale
Compared to most items of jewellery which are purely ornamental, the humble brooch was first created thousands of years ago as a practical item to hold a person’s clothes together. Since that time it has been designed into an endless array of forms and materials, some more novel than others. Although brooches today have largely lost their practical purpose, they remain small statements worn on our chest which can add a splash of colour or character to the wearer. Antique and Vintage brooches remind us of a time when these small pieces of jewellery were crucial to our everyday wear. As such one finds not only fun novelty pieces, but extremely fine examples in gold and silver. Often these better-quality items will be accented with diamonds or pearls which showed off the skill of the maker.
As items which can be worn and admired on a daily basis, antique and vintage brooches are a great addition to any jewellery collection. At LoveAntiques we have a fine selection of quality Antique and Vintage brooches.
Antiques et Cetera
3 Vintage Gold Plated Miniature Brooches - Ideal Gift
£ 25
Jo Brayshaw
Double Shakudo Fan Brooch c.1950
£ 58
Doubloon
Dachshund Gold Brooch
£ 345
Doubloon
Victorian Game Bird Stickpin
£ 195
£ 6,950
£ 1,195
Antiques in Oxford
Victorian Cannetille 15ct Gold Brooch with Diamonds 1893
£ 625
£ 725
Quality Victorian 15ct Gold & Pearl Star Pendant That Converts to a Brooch
£ 725
Antiques in Oxford
Antiques in Oxford
Victorian Gold Brooch with Cannetille Work
£ 450
Antiques in Oxford
Arts & Crafts Charles Horner Silver Enamel Brooch Chester 1911
£ 225
£ 225
£ 6,950
4.83ct Pink Sapphire & 1.1ct Tourmaline 1.36ct Diamond, 18ct Gold Brooch c.1940
£ 6,950
AC Silver
Antiques et Cetera
Vintage Silver Cameo Brooch / Pendant - Boxed
£ 60
Bridport Antiques
Enamel Butterfly
£ 110
Marple Antiques & Collectables
Rare Antique Gold Star Brooch
£ 1,065
Jo Brayshaw
Victorian 9ct Stock Stick Pin c.1900
£ 130
Antiques et Cetera
Vintage Gilt Petit Rhinestone Magen Dovid (star of David) Brooch - Boxed
£ 28
Vintage Gilt Petit Rhinestone Magen Dovid (star of David) Brooch - Boxed
£ 28
Antiques et Cetera
Jo Brayshaw
15ct & Diamond Stock or Stick Pin c.1900
£ 110
£ 1,865
£ 2,950
£ 2,950
£ 85
£ 6,950
4.43ct Amethyst & 4.43ct Diamond 9ct Yellow Gold Brooch / Pendant - Antique c.1890
£ 6,950
AC Silver
£ 100
Underwoodhall
Scottish Silver Brooch- Edinburgh 1961
£ 99
£ 275
£ 2,950
£ 40
Doubloon
Silver Gilt Fox Brooch
£ 145
£ 2,650
0.99ct Diamond, Cultured Pearl and 18 ct Yellow Gold Pin Brooch - Antique Circa 1900
£ 2,650
AC Silver
£ 2,450
0.88ct Diamond, 0.84ct Garnet & Ruby, 18ct Yellow Gold Gondola Brooch - Vintage c.1950
£ 2,450
AC Silver
Jeff Sims Antiques
Charming Danish Silver 'Bear' Tie Pin
£ 75
Museum of Treasure
Continental Gold & Silver & Gem-Set Dragonfly Brooch
£ 1,250
Jo Brayshaw
9ct Aquamarine Set Bar Brooch c.1910
£ 135
£ 2,950
Antiques in Oxford
Georg Jensen Rare Master Brooch Number 1 with Malachite & Coral
£ 4,500
Antiques in Oxford
Georg Jensen Silver Torun ‘Pram Brooch’
£ 1,550
Antiques in Oxford
Arts & Crafts Dorrie Nossiter Brooch Set with Topaz
£ 595
Antiques in Oxford
Antique Coral Brooch in a Lovely Deep Colour
£ 320
£ 145
Antique & Rare Vintage Brooches FAQs
When were brooches invented?
As a practical way to hold your clothes together brooches have been around since at least the Bronze Age and possibly earlier. Prominently on display, such items quickly became a way to impart social wealth and stature through the choice of materials and design. Often Bronze, Silver or Gold was used as the main material as well as precious and semi-precious stones. As fashions changed so too did the look and style of the brooches. Today we no longer need such items for very practical purposes, but still enjoy them for their aesthetic appeal.
How do I know if my brooch is vintage?
When examining the authenticity of vintage brooches, you’ll want to look at the small details for clues of manufacturing date. Closely examining the clasps and hinges of antique and vintage brooches will help identify what specific period in time they were most popular in. If they were by a quality maker or made of solid Silver or Gold then there may be hallmarks present as well. Different eras have different styles of jewellery and stone cuts.
Are vintage brooches worth anything?
Vintage brooches can be valuable if either they were made of precious metal and stones or if they were made by famous designers. Indeed even vintage costume jewellery by the big name Couturiers such as Dior or Yves Saint Laurent can be worth considerable sums now. Because makers do not have to hallmark smaller pieces of gold or silver jewellery below 8 grams it is common for there to be no marks so it is worth taking your brooch to a jeweller to get checked. While most vintage costume jewellery was cheaper when new and remains cheap today, much still has a value for people who just enjoy wearing these fun designs from the past.