Designer Vintage Art Deco marcasite brooch (STAMPED Hollywood)

Vintage Hollywood Marcasite brooch stamped Hollywood. Fair condition and a stunning piece of high-end costume jewellery. On the rear of the brooch is the stamp "HOLLYWOOD". Some confuse these pieces with those produced by two other companies that are entirely different: Joseff of Hollywood and Hollycraft, both US companies (their marks were entirely different).

Hollywood part of the Bloxidge Brother's company (based in Birmingham, England) that manufactured high-end costume jewellery from 1918 to around 1972. It was the principle supplier to the UK chain store, Woolworths (not the same as the store we have in South Africa).

In 2011, a collection of jewellery designs that came from the Bloxidge Brothers company was filmed for the Antiques Road Show in Birmingham. Marcasite jewelry is jewelry made from pyrite (fool's gold), not, as the name suggests, from marcasite. Pyrite is similar to marcasite, but more stable and less brittle. It is frequently made by setting small pieces of pyrite into silver. Cheaper costume jewelry is made by gluing pieces of pyrite rather than setting - this brooch appear set.

Marcasite jewelry has been made since the time of the Ancient Greeks. It was particularly popular in the eighteenth century, the Victorian era and with Art Nouveau jewelry designers.

When Prince Albert died in 1861, Queen Victoria entered a period of mourning, requiring her entire court to wear black and avoid opulent jewelry. Marcasite became very popular as an understated alternative for the nobility.

While all effort is made to properly research the provenance of items, I am not an expert and can't be held liable for any inaccuracies.