Power brokers of modern times have done the same, from the former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to the former president of the UK Supreme Court, Brenda Marjorie Hale, who famously wore a large spider brooch in 2019 when the Supreme Court ruled that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to prorogue parliament had been “unlawful”. Many speculated the pin symbolised the tangled web of politics.

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The mischievous Albright owned a “diplomatic arsenal” of brooches, described in her book Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box. Picked up on her travels, these pieces conveyed messages of warmth, welcome and warning. It was a way for her to inject some humour into her diplomatic role, such as the time she wore a gold snake brooch to meet Saddam Hussein – he had once called her an “unparalleled serpent”.

While a brooch offers a limitless platform for attracting attention and broadcasting a message, it also lets jewellery designers unleash their imagination and creativity.

Different cultures draw symbolic meaning from different aspects of nature, the cosmos or even colour, thus providing an abundant source of inspiration for designers, and allowing them to invest some message or personal significance for the customer.

Meanwhile, Michelle Ong, founder of Carnet, has witnessed how certain designs resonate with different customers in a subliminal way. She highlights her pomegranate brooch – the fruit is a symbol of prosperity and fertility.

“A lot of times, this kind of design appeals to people with grandchildren, even without them knowing it,” she says. “The design speaks to them.”

Also, she points out the significance of the ruby red of the brooch, which as a gift conveys an auspicious message of luck, joy and happiness.

Feng-J’s large Ginkgo Leaf pins, which display her signature “floating set” to give them volume and ethereal lightness, are similarly auspicious for their subtle symbolism of longevity. This design is particularly popular with male clients.

Offering another message is Anna Hu’s carved chalcedony and rubellite Leaping Koi brooch, which references strength of character, courage and accomplishment.

Once started, it is easy to get swept up in this language of brooches. Some designs take on a talisman-like significance, such as the lion, referencing the zodiac sign of Coco Chanel, which has provided the director of jewellery creation, Patrice Leguéreau, with a breadth of subjects for the high jewellery collections. Similarly powerful is Cartier’s ever-graceful panther, which oozes magic, beauty and self-reliance.

All sorts of meanings can be attributed to a brooch. For example, Boucheron’s high jewellery Fleche de Temps piece could be read as Cupid’s arrow, but when Albright wore an arrow-shaped pin in the late 90s to meet then Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov, it came with a warning. When asked if it was an interceptor missile, she replied: “Yes, and we know how to make them very small!”

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