Stunning gold tone statement brooch from the iconic American costume jewellery designers Les Bernard.
The selling brooch is very 1970s, with a stylised woman's face, with high defined cheekbones and very dramatic winged eye makeup. It is almost like a modernist take on the famous Venetial carnival masks and also has a look of the Keim brooches and clips from the 1920s and 1930s. It is made of a brushed matte, gold tone metal, with black enamel details, and cut out eyes. It is signed on the reverse 'Les Bernard'.
Les Bernard is the legendary costume jewellery company set up in the 1960s by famed designers Lester Joy and Bernard Shapiro (son of Vogue designer, Harold Shapiro) – hence the name, Les Bernard. Their designs did much to shape 1960s, 1970s and 1980s style in jewellery fashion – and often the pieces they pioneered appeared in the collections of designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, and Givenchy. Les Bernard is perhaps most famous for the pieces they created for many years for the iconic TV series Dynasty!
This brooch is in good vintage condition, but is not pristine (and this is reflected in the price). You will see in the photos that there are a few small scatches and a bit of rubbing to the end of the nose. (I didn't notice any of these until I started zooming in on photographs, and these issues are not noticeable when worn.) The pin of the clasp is a bit wobbly, but otherwise the clasp is in good working order.
The brooch is 4.9 cm long and 3.5 cm wide.
Product code: Gold face brooch | selling Les Bernard | 1970s | Signed | Designer | Couture | Runway | Mask