Holiday Sparkle

With the holiday party season well underway, the scramble to put together the perfect outfit for each event has commenced. While themed jewelry is not always recommended, in the case of this Retro Van Cleef & Arpels Snowflake brooch, anyone would make an exception.

When one thinks of 1940’s VCA, the Snowflake collection immediately comes to mind. The collection made its debut in 1947, and the use of yellow gold in this piece is characteristic of the Retro style of the 1940’s, when wartime rationing made platinum scarce. VCA and other jewelers turned instead to yellow gold, even for wintry white themed pieces such as this. In this case, the naturalistic bold design and use of gold transforms what is typically white, airy and quite delicate into a bold, colorful interpretation.

This brooch is designed as three layers of geometric cut high polished yellow gold planes, with scattered diamond accents. The layers are held together with a central, domed diamond attachment, which can be removed to dismantle the brooch for cleaning. In addition to being a classic VCA design, this brooch also has French hallmarks stamped on the back of the piece, adding to its value. Print this post