Can I play?
My collection is nothing like Mistikat's (give me a few decades, though!) partially because it is still very small, and partially because I tend to wear tiny brooches. 3" is my biggest, not smallest!
I've attached a photo of my menagerie of pins - the top one is is a Max Mara crystal and gold-tone metal fly.
The peacock is a unknown maker (anyone know who was known for abalone and sterling brooches, usually hallmarked STER with a small bee? I've seen several but I can't find anything in my vintage jewelry books). It was a gift from my father for the first Mother's Day after we adopted the Knight.
The middle is an enamel and diamond frog; it was my grandmother's from the 70s.
The far right a vintage Dior sterling zebra, which I received for my 21st birthday.
Bottom row is a nephrite and gold beetle; my grandfather brought it back from China when he was released from his WWII service. My paternal aunts didn't appreciate "that green stuff." When my grandmother was dividing her jewelry box, she decided that my mother and I were the only ones in the family who would appreciate it and so we inherited it.
My mother has the rest of the parue, but I adopted the buggy.
and then I've added a 2F coin for size.
The frog and the beetle especially are very small indeed, about the size of my thumbnail.
These are my daily-wear brooches - I wear dresses at least 4 out of 7 days a week, and I tend to wear a pin around the neckline. I've also been known to adjust the neckline of a cowl necked blouse; pleating it and then pinning it with a brooch.
