MAD ABOUT THE BIG 60s BROOCH

Blame it on Mad Men. The sexy-smart AMC series Mad Men set in New York City's early 1960's begins a new season Sunday, August 16th. Devotees are eagerly counting down the hours until they can get a load of their favorite antihero brooding about some personal crisis under a cloud of cigarette smoke with a martini shaken not stirred.

The attraction to sophisticatied styles a la Gotham 1962 has also impacted jewelry trends. Big brooches were everywhere in the 1960s. A popular brooch motif then was a large showy spray of some sort. The bigger the better. A resurgence of these assymetrical adornments is very likely the result of Mad Men fans oogling with delight over the minutia of fashion and decor on the sets that makes this drama series so authentic.

The spray brooch has kept its alluring figure after all these years. The undulating curves and graceful lines of a mid century brooch can still make one turn green with envy. The craftsmanship provokes a sigh and "they don't make them like they used to".

Here is an exquisite example of an early 1960s era brooch resplendent with diamonds and rubies from Fay Cullen, a purveyor of superb vintage jewels that still make you swoon after all these years.

Vintage gold, diamond and ruby brooch courtesy of http://www.faycullen.com/