Originally purchased from Verdura in th💛e late 1960s.

Spread your wings

Wings in flight take a pre-eminent place in Verꦏdura’s vocabularyꦇ of emblematic motifs, alongside beloved classics such as the wrapped heart and the Maltese cross cuff. 

Fulco di Verdura (1898-1978) was born in an ancient Sicilian noble family and grew up surrounded by the splendour of Palermo’s most magnificent baroque palaces, which would have a lasting influence on his whimsical and colourful designs. Verdura took his first steps in jewellery design creating costume pieces for Coco Chanel. While working with her, he first adopted the wing motif, namely for a pair of silver-gi🍌lt Mercury wing brooches which were subsequently purchased by Daisy Fellowes, the legendary style icon and jewellery collector.

In the mid-1930s, Verdura moved to the United States where he would return to the wing motif numerous times over the ensuing decades. In 1941, Joan Fontaine notably wore her personal gold, pink topaz and diamond Verdura wing brooch, with matching ear clips, during her academy award-winning performance in the film ‘Suspicion’ directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Verdura’s wings could equally be found in the collections of socialites and tastemakers such as Slim Keithꦯ and Betsey Cushing Whitney.