A platinum and gem-set brooch in the form of hovering mayflies
by Van Cleef and Arpels,

their wings represented with diamonds calibré-cut specifically for each individual
openwork mount, their bodies set with emeralds and onyx respectively. 
Paris, c.1925.

The business established in Paris in 1906 by Alfred Van Cleef (1873-1938) and his two cousins Charles (1880-1951)
and Julien Arpels (1884-1964), later joined by their brother Louis (1886-1976), specialised in exquisitely made
gem-set pieces.  Van Cleef and Arpels created a number of jewels in the form of insects in which the celebrated
technique of invisible settings the firm later patented in 1933 enabled it to perfect its interpretation in
diamonds of the translucency and shimmer of wings.

Exhibited:

Japonisme: from Falize to Fabergé, the Goldsmith and Japan,
Wartski, 2011, number 118.