Iconic Orchid Brooches of Paulding Farnham

George Paulding Farnham was the lead jewelry designer for Tiffany & Co in the late 1880s. Farnham was a creative genius and started designing for Tiffany in his early twenties. During his time at Tiffany’s, Farnham won multiple awards for the American Jeweler at many world expos. Farnham created the most original and unique jewelry incorporating stunning colored stones, diamonds and enamel.

George Paulding Farnham 1859 - 1927

Although many of Farnham’s designs won awards, my favorite collection by Farnham is the twenty-four jeweled enamel Orchid brooches designed for the 1889 Paris exposition. Orchid is not species of flora native to North America, it was imported and popularized in North American circa 1830s. Orchids at the time was a costly exotic import, and became a symbol of wealth and prestige. Many rich and socially prominent New Yorkers and Parisians alike started collecting all things Orchids: plants, art, books and more. Orchid in Jewelry however was a novelty.

The series of twenty-four brooches, each depicting a different variety of Orchid was fashioned with remarkable botanical accuracy and impeccable craftsmanship to resemble the actual flower was designed and created for the Paris Expo in 1889 by Farnham. The orchids were created in enamel and incorporated were diamonds, rubies, opals and other colored stones. Following the collections success in the Paris Expo, Tiffany&Co. created a subsequent Orchid Brooch collection in 1890.

Below are a few pictures of the flowers and Farnham's design sketches - I believe some depicted below are from the original 24 series and a few from the subsequent collection. Tiffany&Co. has not reproduced Farnham Orchids since.

The Orchid brooch series went on to become the most beloved of Farnham’s work. The rare limited Orchid Brooches resurfaces from time to time at auctions. One brooch from the 1890 series sold for $415,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in 1993, and more recently for $173,000 in 2013. One of these extraordinary brooches are on display at the MET, along with three more Farnham creations. See link below for more information.

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/744107

References:

Loring, J. (2000). Orchids. In Paulding Farnham: Tiffanys lost genius (pp. 48–59). New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams Inc.

Sothebys. (2019, March 28). Retrieved November 1, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObUgDXGp3XE.