Vintage Aurora Borealis Rhinestone Brooch — Antiqued Floral Spray
A properly pretty piece of mid-century costume jewellery: an openwork spray of leafy vines, scattered all over with little flower heads, each one centred on a prong-set Aurora Borealis rhinestone.
There are around thirty stones in all, graduating from tiny to medium, and they carry that unmistakable AB fire — clear crystal shot through with blue, green and gold, with a few reading distinctly pink or lilac depending on how the light catches them. Every stone is set individually in its own little crown collet with beaded prongs, and the settings are open at the back, so light passes right through the crystal rather than dying against a closed cup.
The metalwork is cast rather than stamped, with real depth to it — narrow pointed leaves layered over curving stems, the whole thing domed slightly so it sits proud on the fabric. The finish is an antiqued silver-pewter, darkened in the recesses and rubbed brighter on the raised leaf tips, which throws the stones forward rather than competing with them.
It fastens with a straight steel pin and a roll-over safety catch.
The Aurora Borealis finish was developed by Swarovski in collaboration with Christian Dior and reached the market in 1955–56, so this piece cannot be earlier than that. Taken together with the roll-over catch, the open-back prong settings and the leaf-and-vine styling, it points to the late 1950s or 1960s. I am dating it on construction rather than any mark, and I have said so plainly rather than pinning it to a single year.
The brooch is unmarked — no maker's signature, country mark or purity stamp anywhere on the back — so it is listed as unmarked silver-tone metal rather than silver. The stones are foil-backed glass rhinestones with an Aurora Borealis coating, not natural gemstones. Please buy on that basis.
Unsigned is entirely normal for costume jewellery of this period; the great majority of it was sold without any mark at all.
Good used condition with wear consistent with age.
Please note two things, both visible in the photographs:
The large centre stone is missing. The empty setting sits at the very centre of the design and its prongs are all present and still standing upright, so the stone has simply worked loose and fallen out rather than the setting having failed. A replacement round Aurora Borealis stone of roughly 8 mm could be fitted by anyone comfortable with prong work, but I have not attempted it, and the price reflects the piece as it stands.
There is light wear to the antiqued finish on the high points of the leaves, and some darkening in the recesses. I have left the finish entirely as found — on a design of this kind the antiquing is part of the original intention, and cleaning it back would take away much of the character.
All the remaining stones are present, bright and clear, with no clouding, greying or foil loss. No prongs are bent or splayed. The pin is straight and the roll-over catch closes firmly.
Sold as seen — please study all photographs, which form part of the description.