composed as a succession of three horizontally mounted Greek key motifs, the diamond-set design partially bordered with rubies in order to convey the perspective of the outlines.
Illustrated
See N0.156 (pg 157) of ‘From Function to Fantasy, The Brooch: From 1200 BCE to the Contemporary’ (Wartski, 2025).
The partially legible mark on the jewel appears to be that of the firm Black, Starr & Frost, whose origins date back to 1810, when Erastus Barten founded his business, and took on Marquand as a partner. The stock ranged from porcelain, lamps and paintings to silverware and jewellery. First located on Broadway, the firm knew many changes of partners, company names and locations. By 1833 it had street level premises and was the first to use plate glass windows in the hope of attracting a luxury-loving clientele through its street-facing display. A mark of the firm’s growing success was its participation in the Great Exhibition of 1851, one of the few American jewellers to travel to London. Known by then as Ball, Black & Co., featuring amongst the display was a four-piece solid gold tea service. When Cortland W. Starr was made a partner alongside Aaron Frost and Robert C. Black in 1874, the business became known as Black, Starr & Frost, and relocated to Fifth Avenue in 1876.
From this strategic location, it sold a stock of locally manufactured diamond pieces and also imported fashionable bows and botanical jewellery. That same year, Black, Starr & Frost exhibited alongside their primary competitor Tiffany & Co. at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Their delicate chokers and brooches were soon replaced by bolder jewels and with the 1920’s came a focus on significant gemstones set into sautoirs, bracelets and clips. Recognised as one of the leading New York jewellers, the firm’s clientele included stars of stage and screen as well as the Vanderbilts, Guggenheims and Carnegies. The opening of a branch in Palm Beach testified to the firm’s success.
In 1929, the business joined forces with the Gorham Company, and became known as Black, Starr & Frost-Gorham, Inc., prominently located at Fifth Avenue and 48th Street. Amongst their pieces were elegant vanity cases and clocks which were much admired when featured in their display in the House of Jewels at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, one of only five Fifth Avenue jewellers to participate. The brooch is typical of the firm’s Art Deco pieces, immaculately made, well designed, and characteristic of its range of trompe l’oeil jewellery.