Colossal Victorian En Tremblant Butterfly and Flower Brooch

Hold your breath, because this museum worthy wonder will take it away. Measuring 6 1/2 inches long (not a typo!), flowing articulated stems of glittering rose-cut diamond-set leaves culminate in a large flower (1 5/8 inch wide)--centered with a sparkling 1.00 carat European-cut diamond--and a big beautiful multi-colored butterfly floating up top (sapphire, diamond and emerald wings, ruby eyes), all of which shimmy and shake (en tremblant*) with your every movement. Knowledgeable lovers of antique jewelry would most certainly identify this magnificently designed piece as hailing from the Victorian era. However, the hallmarks indicate a provenance of Austria, post 1931, which we assume may be an import mark. This exquisite and utterly unique jewel is hand fabricated in darkened silver over 18K gold, and ranks as one of the most showstopping, astonishingly stunning works of wearable art of all time.

*Courtesy of Antique Jewelry University: “En tremblant” is a French term – meaning “to tremble”. It was first used to describe 18th and 19th-century jewelry where parts of the diamond set pieces were attached to a trembler (a material that acts as a spring such as a thin metal wire) to create movement in the jewel when worn. Brooches mounted in this way were particularly effective in reflecting the scintillating fire of candlelight.