Read an interview between Sandrine Merle and our own Katherine Purcell about Wartski’s 160th anniversary exhibition ‘From Function to Fantasy, The Brooch’. It was hosted in our shop on St James’s Street between 1st -12th October, 2025.
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Sandrine Merle. Why dedicate an entire exhibition to brooches?
Katherine Purcell. Too often underestimated, brooches are the jewelry that say the most about the person wearing them, unlike bracelets or necklaces, which can be worn anywhere: on the shoulder, on a sleeve, on the back, on the belt, or even in a series around the neck. In Alice Toklas’ memoirs*, the passage recounting her meeting in Paris with her partner Gertrude Stein inspired me greatly. She writes: “Gertrude Stein spoke to me through her brooch; I was mesmerized by her brooch “. Yet it was a modest design set with a coral cabochon, now in the Fitzwilliam Museum and featured in this exhibition. It is also the one that can be seen in Picasso’s portrait of Stein, which is kept at the MET.
