Brooch thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Brooch

ca. 1972 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In the sixties a group of jewellers based in London were in many ways ahead of their time. Working within the mainstream market for precious jewellery, they experimented with contemporary designs and materials. They explored new methods of applying gold and devised unconventional shapes for settings.

For women in high society this jewellery offered a new way of expressing wealth and status. What counted was creative expression and individuality, not big flashy stones and material values. Diamonds were no longer the only gemstone to be a ‘girl’s best friend’.

Stuart Devlin, born in Australia, was awarded a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Art, London in 1958 and afterwards at Columbia University in the USA. After an interim stay in Australia he moved to London where he opened a workshop in 1965. Devlin has designed jewellery, silver, trophies, coinage, medallions, furniture and interiors. Stylistically he moved from his early Scandinavian style or Bauhaus approach to objects with rich ornamentation. He developed various processes for texturing metal surfaces and using filigree ornaments.

Devlin began designing jewellery in 1967 and was granted the Royal Warrant of Goldsmith and Jeweller to Her Majesty the Queen in 1982.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Gold and grain-set diamonds
Brief description
Brooch, made by Stuart Devlin, about 1972; gold and diamonds
Physical description
Star-shaped brooch whose openwork form is made up of the massed bodies of tiny pin men. At the centre is a diamond-encrusted hemisphere.
Dimensions
  • Height: 6.5cm
  • Width: 5.5cm
measured as pinned
Marks and inscriptions
unmarked
Credit line
Given by Joan Hurst through Art Fund
Summary
In the sixties a group of jewellers based in London were in many ways ahead of their time. Working within the mainstream market for precious jewellery, they experimented with contemporary designs and materials. They explored new methods of applying gold and devised unconventional shapes for settings.

For women in high society this jewellery offered a new way of expressing wealth and status. What counted was creative expression and individuality, not big flashy stones and material values. Diamonds were no longer the only gemstone to be a ‘girl’s best friend’.

Stuart Devlin, born in Australia, was awarded a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Art, London in 1958 and afterwards at Columbia University in the USA. After an interim stay in Australia he moved to London where he opened a workshop in 1965. Devlin has designed jewellery, silver, trophies, coinage, medallions, furniture and interiors. Stylistically he moved from his early Scandinavian style or Bauhaus approach to objects with rich ornamentation. He developed various processes for texturing metal surfaces and using filigree ornaments.

Devlin began designing jewellery in 1967 and was granted the Royal Warrant of Goldsmith and Jeweller to Her Majesty the Queen in 1982.
Bibliographic reference
Devlin, Carole and Simkins, Victoria Stuart Devlin: designer, goldsmith, silversmith, Antiques Collector Club, 2018, pp.340-1
Collection
Accession number
M.18-2006

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Record createdJanuary 9, 2008
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