Sterling Silver | Art Deco Marcasite & Black Cabochon Brooch | Double Panel | c.1920s–1930s

The Art Deco period asked jewellery to do something quite specific — to look as though geometry itself had decided to be decorative.

Marcasite jewellery in sterling silver reached its most concentrated period of production in the 1920s and 1930s, when the combination of iron pyrite stones and oxidised silver became the defining material language of affordable Art Deco ornament. The style was particularly associated with workshops in Germany and Czechoslovakia, where hand-setting of individual marcasite stones into silver mounts was carried out to a high standard of craft. Pieces of this type were produced for the European and export markets and remain actively collected today for their graphic quality and the labour-intensive nature of their construction.

This brooch is formed as two conjoined lozenge-shaped panels in sterling silver, set overall with individually bezel-set marcasite stones and centred on a radiating sunburst motif. From the centre point, engraved lines extend outward in a spoke pattern across both panels, with the marcasite fill organised to follow and reinforce the radiating geometry. Around the outer edge of each panel, and flanking the central junction, eleven round black cabochon stones — consistent with onyx — are set in raised silver collets, providing a bold tonal contrast to the metallic grey of the marcasite ground. The outer border of each panel is scalloped in a gentle wave, softening what would otherwise be a strictly rectilinear form. The brooch pin is fitted to the reverse. Hallmarked 925.

One marcasite stone is absent. The remaining stones are all present and secure. The silver shows age-consistent oxidation in the recessed areas, which serves to increase the contrast and legibility of the design. The black cabochon stones are intact with no visible chips or losses.

Key Details

• Metal: Sterling silver, hallmarked 925
• Stones: Marcasite (iron pyrite); black cabochon stones consistent with onyx
• Style: Art Deco double-panel brooch
• Period: c.1920s–1930s
• Length: 5.4cm
• Width: 2.1cm
• Weight: 10g
• Condition: Good — one marcasite stone absent; all other stones present and secure; age-consistent oxidation to recessed silver

A brooch like this was never meant to whisper — it was designed for the era that invented the cocktail party and meant every word of it.