Puppy dog tales
Imagine a wildly imaginative puppy wheeling a unicycle, its pearl body accented with gold, a bicycle helmet on its tiny head complete with a sapphire headlight, although maybe a diamond would have been more practical! But that’s part of the point; the more outrageous, unusual, or unrealistic, the better to enhance the charm factor. Poodle double-clip brooches from the 1950s compete with a bulldog wearing a monocle and a white collar and bow tie. Call him Winston Churchill and you get the idea. The prominent American designer David Webb produced a veritable menagerie of animal motifs.
Our feline friends
French jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels is very adept at animal motif jewellery. Consider a mischievous feline designed as a winking cat with an emerald eye topped by a curving graduated row of round diamonds, highlighted by a tiny ruby nose and chubby onyx cabochon belly. Its textured head and lush tail, polished ears, whiskers, and feet add contrast. It’s a charmer mounted in 18-karat gold. Amusement is guaranteed from the wildly popular lion ébouriffé series of pins, also from Van Cleef & Arpels. The tousle-haired lion was beloved by Grace Kelly and available in various sizes; like Goldilocks, one size is just right. Each seated lion is designed with a textured gold body and head, round emerald eyes, black enamel nose, and diamond-set muzzle. Its most eye-catching detail is the fabulous polished gold mane. Another French jeweller, Fred of Paris, designed an animal series including cats and dogs, some enhanced with black enamel or turquoise cabochon details.
