David Webb White Enamel and Ruby Frog Brooch, 1960s to 1970s

The renowned American jeweller David Webb transformed a simple frog into an irresistible conversation piece. Its white enamel, raised gold spirals and ruby eyes make it wonderful company on a lapel or shoulder. Give it a kiss and you never know what you might find.

Jewellery type: frog brooch.

Condition: excellent condition with light wear consistent with age and use. The white enamel is well preserved.

Country of origin: United States of America.

Style: Sixties jewellery, from David Webb’s distinctive Warty Frog design family. Its rounded, crouching form is animated by raised spiral gold spots and sinuous gold lines over white enamel.

Period: 1960s to 1970s.

Source of inspiration: Nature and good-luck symbolism.

Theme: frog.

Material: 18K yellow gold, touchstone tested, and white enamel.

Technique: enamelling, with applied gold decoration.

Additional information: David Webb’s frogs had already become emblematic by 1964, when a Life magazine feature on the designer and his Coty Award staged frog brooches on a lily pad in a creek. Their enduring appeal is easy to understand: collectors who begin with one often end up delightfully “befrogged”.

Gemstones: two cabochon-cut rubies, forming the frog’s eyes.

Traditional gemstone associations: ruby is the birthstone for July and is traditionally associated with love, vitality and courage.

Maker: David Webb, New York.

Hallmarks: signed “© WEBB ®” and marked “18K”, indicating 18-carat gold.

Dimensions: 4.4 × 3.1 cm (1.73 × 1.22 in). See photograph with a millimetre scale.

Weight: 52.0 grams.

Adin Reference Nº: 26211-00088.

Literature and exhibitions: A closely comparable white enamel Warty Frog clasp, dated circa 1965 and set with circular-cut diamonds where this brooch has cabochon rubies, is illustrated in Ruth Peltason, David Webb: The Quintessential American Jeweler (New York: Assouline, 2013), pp. 202–203.