Chanel Earrings and Brooches: A Field Guide to the Lagerfeld Years
This guide is the companion to Vintage Chanel Jewellery: Marks and Eras, which explains the plaque and the history. Here the subject is the shapes: the earrings and brooches that Japanese collectors bought in numbers through the 1990s and 2000s, and that now come back from Tokyo wardrobes in their pouches and cases.
Reading the season stamp
Chanel costume pieces from 1993 onward carry a two-digit year and a season letter, P for spring and A for autumn. A pair stamped 96P is spring 1996; a brooch stamped 01A is autumn 2001. The stamp places a piece within six months, and each season has its own motifs: the early 1990s favoured large gilt CCs, the late 1990s pearls and enamel, and the 2000s novelty brooches. A stamp that does not fit the design is a reason to look harder.
Earrings
- CC clip-ons. The core of every collection: round or oval gilt discs with the interlocking CCs, plain or quilted, in gold tone or silver tone. The Spring 1996 pair in our archive is a classic.
- Flower and camellia earrings. The camellia was Gabrielle Chanel's favourite flower; the Spring 1994 CC flower clip-ons are an example.
- Pearl drops. Faux-pearl spheres on a gilt post or hanging from a CC; check the pearl coating, which chips at the hole.
- Button earrings. Rounded discs wrapped in leather or fabric with a CC, such as the pink leather pair from Autumn 2000.
Brooches
- CC logo brooches. Gilt, silver tone or strass-set, in the early 1990s shapes.
- Safety-pin brooches. The oversized pin with a CC and rhinestones, a joke on the pins of a seamstress; the Spring 2002 pin in silver and pink is one.
- Novelty brooches. The beige-and-pink reindeer of Autumn 2001, hearts, stars, bows and seasonal motifs, often supplied in a case.
- Coin and medallion brooches. The Rue Cambon coins, after the address of the house.
Condition checks
- Plating. Look at the high points and the backs of earrings for wear through to the base metal.
- Clips and pins. Earring clips should hold firmly; brooch pins should close cleanly and sit straight.
- Stones and pearls. Count strass against the photographs; replaced stones rarely match.
- The plaque. The stamp should be crisp and centred.
Cases and pouches
Japanese owners often keep the pouch or case. A reindeer brooch in its case, or a pair in its original pouch, completes the piece; see Japanese condition ranks for how grades describe wear.
Wearing them
Clip-ons were designed for the pierced and the unpierced alike and are comfortable for a day. Conversion to pierced fittings is possible but reduces collector value; most collectors leave them as made. Brooches work on lapels, berets, scarf knots and bag straps.
Why Japan
Japan was one of Chanel's largest markets for costume jewellery from the late 1980s, and a culture of careful keeping means pieces survive with their boxes and little wear. The wider argument is in Why Japan Is the World's Finest Market for Pre-owned Luxury.
In the archive now
Continue reading
- Vintage Chanel Jewellery: Marks and Eras
- Chanel Classic Flap: Sizes and Hardware
- Louis Vuitton and Chanel Date Codes
- Mikimoto and Akoya Pearls
- All collector guides
After a particular season or motif? Our Hunting Salon™ searches across Japan's private collector circles on your behalf.
Index terms: chanel earrings vintage · chanel brooches vintage · chanel cc clip on earrings · chanel safety pin brooch · chanel reindeer brooch · chanel 96p earrings · chanel season stamp · chanel camellia earrings