Gemstone Pins & Brooches

From family heirlooms to historical legacies, gemstone pins add an air of luxury as well as history. Pins and brooches in general first emerged out of practicality in the ancient world, as early cultures needed a means to fasten draped fabrics into capes, loincloths, or other clothing.

Over time, the design of these pins became increasingly elaborate, incorporating ruler’s crests or symbols and, eventually, inlaid enamel and gems. Soon these precious materials transformed from accent to focal point, with the brilliance of the gems accentuated by ever more hidden settings such that the stones appeared to simply levitate on the lapel of the wearer.

Quick Facts

• Famed 19th-century Polish opera singer Ganna Walska owned a stunning diamond brooch designed by Van Cleef & Arpels. Featuring an emerald, sapphire, and diamond encrusted phoenix that dangles a 96.62-carat briolette yellow diamond from its beak, the brooch sold in 2013 for just over $10 million
• One of the stars of the Russian Diamond Fund of Moscow is the Maria Alexandrovna Sapphire Brooch. It features a magnificent sapphire totaling just over 260 carats that was acquired by Emperor Alexander II at the Great London Exhibition of 1862
• Tiffany & Co. can also boast one of the world’s most impressive brooches: the Hooker Emerald Brooch. Designed around a 75 carat Colombian emerald that Tiffany purchased in 1911, it has been suggested that the stone was mined as early as the 16th century