History of the Brooch and Pin

Tracing brooches and pins back, historians argue that it was during the Bronze Age when clothes were fastened by bronze pins. Once the pins were fastened, early brooches adorned men and women. In the Byzantine Empire, brooches were a popular accessory, using gold and silver pins. The brooches were colorful and enameled. By the 18th century, brooches were integral to fastening fabrics and feathers to women’s clothing.

Types, Features, Functions

Today, the brooch and its pin are considered vintage jewelry. From pop-art retro to silver pins and brooches, there are antique brooches as well as vintage. The features and functions of brooches give women versatility in their accessorizing. A Sterling Silver brooch with diamonds can be worn with jeans. Plain flowery brooches can be worn with vintage hats and feather scarves.

The aesthetic of brooches and pins attract a wide, eclectic style. But brooches and pins serve a function and purpose. They have always fastened clothing and hair. Sterling Silver brooches and pins are not solely for looks, but the strength of Sterling Silver keeps the clothing and style all together.

Sterling Silver’s Strength, Ductility and Beauty

Composed of 92.5% silver and, usually, the rest copper, Sterling Silver is the most common and beautiful silver. Fine silver (99.9% silver) is too soft to produce objects and jewelry. Copper gives strength, ductility, and luster to the silver. Sterling Silver brooches and pins are highly popular to accessorize and complete the overall fashion.

Silver’s History, Symbol, and Danger

As a precious metal, silver has a long history, spanning back to 5000-4000 BCE. Silver was originally a sacred metal, because of its comparison to gold and symbolically to the semi-circle of the moon. It quickly became coinage and jewelry thereafter. Silver was discovered during the same time as copper and gold.

Silver mining was a dangerous expedition. Silver and lead are part of the same ore. To mine and extract silver, the danger of lead poison was severe. Most free men in the ancient world didn’t mine for silver, but had slaves mine and extract the silver from lead.