Posted 7 years ago
MadamMisty
(88 items)
I found this at an estate sale -- there must be a lot of elderly people where I live! I am hoping someone can tell me what to call this piece of jewelry so I can search the internet for more information. I noticed this "pin" because when I turned it over I saw springs on the back side. The clips come off so you can use them as sweater (?) shoe (?) clips and then put them back on the apparatus to make a pin once more. By the way, this is filthy. How should I clean it? (I know I should never get rhinestones wet, Broochman taught me that. Thanks in advance!
Pretty!
That's a (double) dress clip, a short-lived alternative to the brooch from the 1920s to 1940s. Yours I'd guess to be 1920s.
For more reading: https://www.nationaljeweler.com/fashion/antique-estate-jewelry/4231-the-history-behind-dress-clips
But what if I want to keep it Broochman, how would I clean it?
Yes it does have a patent. I will research it
Hi You all have the info about dress clips and duettes or clipmates as they are called. Looking at the old movies is an excellent source for seeing how they were worn separately at the shoulders or together at the base of a deep v-neck. Some history: The impetus for this design was copying the fine jewelers. I saw an exhibit about Van Cleef and Arpels at the Field Museum in Chicago, but I think this was remounted in New York in 2011. This company made jewelry that could be worn several different ways. A large necklace might made up of bracelets and a brooch that fit together for the necklace but could be worn separately. Some pieces even came with their own little screw driver to assist in changing the pieces. Clips that fit into a brooch was another design. Coro, Trifari, and others reinterpreted this idea into costume jewelry and thought up proprietary names for their versions. I love these designs.
Upon closer examination with a magnifying glass, Volia! It's marked "Coro Duette"
Thank you everyone who pitched in and commented.