Do not hide your sparkles away in a drawer, brooches bring a sparkle to any outfit.


Do not keep your sparkling brooches just for evening wear.
When the sun catches and reflects on a rhinestone the brilliance can bring forth smiles.
Most offices and shops now have bright artificial light and these can bring out the colours in a rhinestone or glass brooch especially those with AB (aurora borealis) stones.
When the weather is dull and you are wrapped up in your winter coat, brighten the outfit with a large and colourful brooch and pin. Don’t hide them away for that occasional night out.

This oval brooch is from Slovakia and dates from between 1910 and 1930. I enjoy wearing this on a dark coat, and it never fails to bring forth compliments.
If you are wearing a shawl or scarf around your shoulders attach it with a bar of golden metal or a rhinestone brooch of Czechoslovakian origin.

This brooch
which looks fantastic worn on a scarf or shawl is one of my favourites. The
stones are not brilliant cut but cabochon.

AB stones are those that have been treated with
thin coats of metal to give it the colorful reflective quality. This process allows light to reflect many different colours. This process only came onto the market in the mid 50’s and one of the first fashion houses to use it was Christian Dior in conjunction with the Swarovski company who were instrumental in its conception.

So when you are thinking of buying a piece of jewellery with AB stones any claim that it Dates from before the mid fifties are false. The brooch pictured probably dates from the 1960's.