The sighting: Vogue editor and fashion powerhouse Anna Wintour is known for her collection of beautiful antique jewels and the living legend did not disappoint with her 2024 Met Gala jewelry selections.
The jewels: Wintour’s signature necklace stack is usually defined by colored gems and remarkable antique paste, but she went for colorless sparkle at the 2024 Garden of Time Met Gala.
The editor’s iconic bob hides any earrings she may be wearing, so the fun starts with two layered antique necklaces. They appear to be either Georgian or Victorian in age, one a series of flowerheads and the other a dramatic series of circular elements leading to a pear-shaped drop.
No source has been credited publicly and I am pretty sure I’ve seen Wintour wear these exact pieces before, so I’m assuming they’re from her personal collection and made of either antique paste or antique diamonds.
The real jaw-dropper here is a huge floral brooch. This a magnificent 19th century piece was probably designed as a devant de corsage – a large jewel meant to adorn the front panel of a gown – and is from the collection of London jewelry store SJ Phillips, a favorite of Ms. Wintour’s.
This stunning brooch is actually still available for sale, which means that we have all the deets from SJ Phillips’ website!
Made in France by Vever in 1860, the brooch is designed as a trailing series of flowerheads set with cushion and old brilliant cut diamonds in silver and gold.
Three of the flowers are mounted en tremblant, attached by tiny springs that cause the flowers to tremble with the wearer’s movements. The clever brooch also splits into two sections and can be worn either as two separate brooches or as a brooch and a pendant.
It’s just over 8 inches long, so it really is sizable. The SJ Phillips website doesn’t give an exact price, but it does categorize this beauty “more than £50,000.”
The trends: There were many florals and many brooches at the 2024 Met Gala. The florals are probably all a nod to the theme, so it’s too soon to tell if that’s going to take off as a trend, but I do think the brooches reached a notable number! Celebrities of all genders adorned themselves with brooches for the big event, and I hope that jewelry lovers of all budgets will be inspired to try the same.
As for this specific piece: Anna Wintour was not the only celebrity to wear an antique en tremblant floral devant de corsage to the Met Gala!
IMAGES C/O FABIOLA BERACASA AND KEYAMOUR
Fabiola Beracasa, a producer and philanthropist, also adorned the upper left side of her ensemble with an exquisite antique floral brooch. Beracasa’s brooch features flowers and leaves with en tremblant elements was created by Mellerio Dits Meller, and is on loan from the collection of antique jewelry dealer Keyamour.
Beracasa’s brooch Mellerio Dits Meller also features one delightful detail that Wintour’s brooch doesn’t have: bejeweled insects!
My opinion is that it takes three celeb sightings to make a trend, and we had two in one night – so who’s going to seal this deal by appearing in another stunning floral en tremblant devant de corsage? I’d be happy to volunteer, but I don’t have any red carpet appearances coming up.
What do we think? It’s hard to find a jewel more whimsical and lovely than a good en tremblant floral devant de corsage. Not only are they technically impressive (the tiny springs!!!) and historically meaningful, they’re almost unbearably romantic and beautiful. You don’t have to be an antique jewelry aficionado to appreciate the allure of these treasures from the past.
I love how Wintour and Beracasa wore such similar pieces in different ways. Yes, they’re both on the upper left side of the body, but one is trailing down a jacket lapel while the other is branching down from the shoulder of a gown. The effect is quite different, and gives brooch novices two great starting places to attempt for entry level pin placement.
Judgement: 100,000/10 for a mini-trend of staggering beauty.
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