PRESS RELEASE: Precious treasures from Pforzheim’s Jewellery Museum in London Exhibition marking Wartski’s 160th anniversary
Reading Time:
1 min {{readingTime}} mins
From 1 to 12 October 2025, the renowned traditional London jewellery house Wartski will present the exhibition »From Function to Fantasy: The Brooch. It focuses on the development of the brooch from a purely functional accessory to an artistic piece of jewellery.
The exhibition brings together high-calibre loans from numerous public institutions, including the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Musée Lalique, as well as selected objects from private collections. Pforzheim’s Jewellery Museum is also represented with five precious exhibits: a brooch by Lucien Falize, which was very unusual in 1858 due to its aluminium material, two brooches by the innovator of jewellery art, René Lalique – and the 'Poison' breast ornament by Georges Fouquet, on permanent loan from the Sparkasse Pforzheim Calw Art Foundation, as well as the most spectacular piece of German Art Nouveau jewellery, the 'Octopus and Butterfly' brooch by Lucas Wilhelm von Cranach.
"We are delighted to be represented in London with these outstanding pieces, which also pay tribute to Wartski's 160th anniversary," explains museum director Friederike Zobel. The exhibition impressively shows how the brooch has developed over time from a practical clothing fastener to an independent work of art. With this exhibition, Wartski is making a mark in its long history as an internationally renowned jeweller and collector, and the Jewellery Museum, with its loans, is part of this international dialogue on jewellery art.
Address:
Wartski, 60 St. James’s Street, London SW1A 1 LE
Opening Times:
From 1 to 12 October, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (including Sundays)
Image Credits:
Brooch
Gold, aluminium, Lapis lazuli
Lucien Falize
France, 1858
Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim
Photo: Petra Jaschke
'Octopus and butterfly' Brooch
Gold, pearls, diamonds, rubies, amethysts, topas, enamel
Design Wilhelm Lucas von Cranach, Berlin, 1899/1900
Crafted by Louis Werner, Berlin, 1900
Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim
Photo: Günter Meyer
Author:
Published:
