If you like to accessorize with brooches, consider a Jan Michaels brooch. The unique handcrafted designs offer you a chance to wear miniature works of art. Her vintage brooch collection is highly sought after due to the detailed craftsmanship, which both collectors and brooch wearers appreciate. Learn about jewelry designer Jan Michaels and her line of brooches.
About Jan Michaels Brooches and Jewelry
Jan Michaels is an internationally renowned jewelry designer based out of San Francisco, California. Michaels has designed jewelry for over 25 years and built a reputation as a jeweler who creates wearable art. She’s always designing new collections, but some of her older collections are already considered vintage collectibles. Her brooch designs stand out as the most popular vintage collectibles.
Michaels designs each piece of jewelry and has a team of artisans who assemble each item carefully by hand. None of her jewelry is machine produced. Most of her jewelry is made out of antique brass and semi-precious stones. She rivets metal pieces to create a layered effect in many of her pieces.
Michaels’s jewelry is inspired by her travels, her study of history, and visits to museums and historical sites. She sees her jewelry as paying homage to the artistic traditions of ancient India, Persia, Rome, China, Egypt, Ireland, and Saudi Arabia. She also collects materials for her jewelry during her international travels.
Collections
Michaels has had many collections over the years. Some of her collections include the following:
- Future Tribe: Future tribe combines fantasy and space travel with Native American art and Art Deco design in works of brass with large natural gemstones. The collection includes necklaces, amulets, bracelets, cuffs, and brooches. One noteworthy brooch is the Sputnik Brooch, inspired by space travel. A prong-set amethyst appears to orbit a jade disc set in brass.
- Romantic: Romantic pieces follow classic art and jewelry styles from the Victorian, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco eras, as well as Greek and Roman styles. Many pieces feature filigree, brass rope, and lighter gemstones in cheerful designs. Victorian style brooches, such as a bee brooch, are also available.
- Timeless: The Timeless collection has modern pieces that are clearly influenced by elaborate designs of the Art Deco and Medieval eras. Necklaces, bracelets, and earrings feature heavy scrollwork, filigree, braided brass, metal lace, and large natural stones, such as onyx and hematite. One brooch in this collection has an onyx center stone with brass leaves sprouting out of it.
- Ring Bar: The large rings feature big gemstones in artistic settings and elaborate bands. Many rings look Victorian and Art Deco with a bold, modern slant. Some center stones are large resin insect or animal figures. Cameo, onyx, topaz, and turquoise are among the gemstones featured in designs.
Brooch Designs
Michaels’ brooch designs are timeless. These are some of the most popular:
- A home-themed brooch feature a brass house with heart charm hanging from the top window and various dangling charms of a cat, bird, key, chair, broom, and telephone.
- Another design shows an artistic winged fairy dragonfly shape resting against a smooth brass background, holding a gemstone with its hands and tail.
- The Egyptian brooch features a large sphinx with spread wings standing on a bar, with a smaller sphinx with a scarab dangling down from a brass center plate on the large sphinx. A chain hangs in a half circle from the bar.
- Michaels’ cameo brooch is a Victorian-style filigree brooch with a classic silhouette design.
- A 3D place setting brooch depicts a tray with a meal place setting in realistic 3D detail.
Buying Tips for Vintage Michaels Brooches
To buy Jan Michaels jewelry from her current collection, you can visit her website and view the store locator feature. However, buying vintage designs are more difficult because they are no longer in production. This often requires searching for the jewelry extensively online and at local sources.
Here are some shopping tips to make sure that you are purchasing a genuine Jan Michaels brooch and getting a good deal:
- The back will bear a stamp that reads, “Jan Michaels San Francisco.”
- The brooch should be made of genuine brass, not plated metal.
- The piece should not have any broken or missing parts.
- Shop around. Prices vary greatly. Some people try to charge large sums because of Jan Michaels’ fame and the limited availability. However, you can usually find a vintage Michaels brooch for the reasonable price range of between $15 to $100. $40 may be the average. You can even get an artist autographed brooch for around $50 online.
You will be enchanted by Jan Michaels brooches if you enjoy wearing or collecting brooches. Her unique selection provides many creative options for any occasion.