This is a super cool find and I wanted to share with you all here. Perhaps heraldic or fraternal organization sword & shield brooch with an internal clockwork movement which can be wound, resulting in the gold & jeweled decorations on front to rotate. the rhinestone cluster spins counterclockwise while the starburst underneath turns clockwise. the starburst and rhinestone settings are 14k (starburst marked 585 underneath) and the entire brooch and caseback test good for sterling (not marked for silver). The front appears to have gold highlights as well.. the stars and raised lines of the shield and hilt of the sword. the movement works intermittently and probably just needs oiled. case back, movement and inside the movement case are all marked “34” it comes in a custom blue velvet interior case. brooch approx measurements: 2-1/4” (58mm) x 1-3/4” (43mm) I am considering getting an estimate from a local watchmaker/ clock repair shop to service the movement, and I would clean up the silver a bit. I think this might be a relatively valuable piece if brought back to its original glory. Does anyone have any idea about the origin of such a piece? I’ll be taking it to my local antique market tomorrow morning to gather some opinions
Converted a short video to gif, hopefully it uploads here. It loses a lot of resolution https://i.imgflip.com/ayfroh.gif
Very cool piece JP. Haven't been able to find yours but here's something similar frm the V&A Museum in London. It's German circa 1880-90's-
It’s nice to see well known members not being able to download everything, and even nicer to see other well known members helping out. Nice forum. Love the clockwork broach.
A wonderful novelty piece, and great that the movement still works. JP's could be by the same maker, with that back. Since millessimal marking was introduced in Germany in 1886 and became compulsory in 1888, the date is likely to be 1890s rather than 1880s.
I took it to my local antique market yesterday, and the very knowledgeable dealer that I’ve dealt with in the past is apparently no longer among us. some of the other trusted dealers, but not quite at his level, advised me to be very cautious about selling it without full due diligence. The lesser dealers said it’s “nothing special” and made offers ranging from $15-$75, as expected. (That thing is junk, but I’ll give you $50 for it…please) where’s that eye roll emoji? Lol needless to say, it’s still in my possession
Good! It is a very unusual piece, there are bound to be collectors who are willing to pay nicely for it.
