While it has a bright, silver-like appearance, it is not solid silver. Boucher was well-known for using a "white metal" alloy as a base and then applying a heavy rhodium plating to provide a durable, tarnish-resistant, and high-shine finish that mimicked the look of platinum or fine jewelry.

Key Details About the Metal

Rhodium Plating: This is why your brooch likely still looks very bright even after decades; rhodium is a rare precious metal in the platinum family that doesn't tarnish like sterling silver.

Base Metal: The underlying structure is typically a non-precious metal alloy, which was standard for high-end costume jewelry of that era.

Sterling Silver Exception: Boucher only produced pieces in solid sterling silver (often marked "Sterling" or "MB Sterling") during World War II (1942–1945) when other metals were restricted for military use. Since your piece is from a later design period (numbered 0111), it is almost certainly the signature rhodium-plated version.

One dead rhinestone and one missing at the bottom.

Price reflects these defects but they are still so beautiful and hard to see the defects.

Please see all photos.