Louis Rousselet exquisite floral pearl and glass brooch

This is an enchanting floral brooch by the renowned French jewellery designer Louis Rousselet and dating from around the 1940s. It is a rare find and highly collectable.

It features a botanical array of stylised little pink and pale blue flowers of lampwork glass nestling amongst a cluster of ‘Essence d’Orient’ faux pearl leaves with ‘stems’ of gilt metal. Each bead and pearl is individually wired and has been secured by hand to a punched gilt metal base.

The trombone clasp is hinged for easy pinning to your dress or jacket and is stamped ‘Made in France’. The brooch measures approximately 7 cm by 5 cm and comes in a high-quality black jewel case.

Louis Rousselet was a French beadmaker and jewellery designer who founded the Rousselet Company in Paris in the 1920s. His jewellery incorporated unusual ceramic and Galalith beads into charming floral or evocative designs along with coloured pearls and distinctive glass beads. He became one of the outstanding beadmakers of the twentieth century, employing around 800 people producing handmade, polished lampwork beads, often with baroque shapes to emphasize their individuality and always of exceptional quality. His faux pearls were glass beads coated with ‘Essence d’Orient’ (meaning pearl essence) to create a lustrous and iridescent sheen resembling pearls.

From 1920 to the early 1970s Louis Rousselet was one of France’s most revered jewellers. His designs were showcased by stars of the Folies Bergere and Moulin Rouge as well as leading fashion houses including Coco Chanel, Jacques Fath and Pierre Balmain.