c.1923 SHIPTON CO. BLUE MORPHO R.M.S. FRANCONIA CUNARD LINER STERLING BROOCH PIN

Description

*****See my other auctions for more great historic & related items!*****
c.1923 SHIPTON COMPANY OF BIRMINGHAM ENGLAND BLUE MORPHO BUTTERFLY WING
REVERSE GLASS
R.M.S. FRANCONIA CUNARD OCEAN LINER STERLING SILVER BROOCH PIN
~
ULTRA RARE POSSIBLY UNIQUE & ONLY ONE AVAILABLE ON ENTIRE INTERNET!!!
Most of the old butterfly jewelry that is on the market today was apparently made by a few British firms in the late 1920s and early 1930s. These included Thomas L. Mott Ltd., Henry W. King & Son and Owen Brothers. Two other companies were located in Bermuda (Crisson) and France (Morpho).
Although jewelry made of insects dates back to ancient times, Thomas Mott's exhibit at the British Empire Exhibition of 1924 is credited with making butterfly jewelry all the rage. Mott, which was founded in 1875, acquired Henry W. King in 1925 and Owen Brothers in 1933, making it the largest producer of butterfly wing jewelry. In addition to plain butterfly wing, some jewelry incorporates reverse painting techniques.
In 1922, Shipton Co. of Birmingham, England, applied for a patent with the following specifications:
The invention uses real butterfly wings for the production of coloured pictures on glass sheets or surfaces... being first painted or otherwise fixed upon the back of a glass sheet so as to have transparent or substantially transparent portions or space to be subsequently filled in with real butterfly wings applied against the back of the glass sheet to give the desired colour effects. Reverse painted pieces may be stamped PT 202212 or PAT Aug 1924.
(Some pieces of butterfly jewelry were mistakenly stamped PT 220213 which is, in fact, the patent for Corona Typewriter Inc. Anti-friction ball carriers for typewriters dated Dec. 3, 1923)
. The reverse painting on some of the older pieces is intricate and beautiful however, most "souvenir" and modern pieces are either the Rio de Janeiro skyline or the palm tree & sunset motif.
From Shipton & Co. Website:
Shipton & Co. was founded originally in 1870 as a gemstone cutting company, which then moved into jewellery manufacturing and then retail in the late 19th Century (about 1900) with a first shop in Cornwall
Started by the current Managing Director’s great great grandfather and brought on considerably by his great grandfather Albert Edward Shipton.
Albert had four sons: Albert, Ben, Conrad and Norman. The company had a number of Jewellery shops in the 1920's - 1930's. and also industrially cut agates in Cornwall (at Gulval).
We produced butterfly wing pictures and jewellery as well as our main business of producing and selling stone set jewellery.
During the war we made hose clips for aircraft as our war work, and opened the shops only one day a week.
A number of stores were opened after the war in popular holiday and tourist locations: Oban, Bowness, Keswick, Scarborough, Newquay and Stratford. Our most recent shop to open is at the Golden Square shopping centre in Warrington
Our products are designed for their beauty and enhance the wonderful colours of the gemstones that we use.
Description:
Here is a very beautifully hand-crafted & colorful one of a kind vintage original antique souvenir brooch pin of the famous historic Cunard ship R.M.S. FRANCONIA.  Wonderful 3-D dimension & depth!!!  Excellent & fine detail to the reverse glass ship!
The first Franconia was built in 1910 & torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1916. This was the second Franconia that had her maiden voyage in 1923
(which is when this pin was made!)
& was immensely historic, seeing much action & service during WWII, being bombed & damaged by the Germans during a war time mission, & also famously used by Winston Churchill as his floating headquarters ship during the Yalta Conference. Probably an early promotional item for the "new" Cunard ship! Possibly even sold as an early souvenir on board the ship itself during its' maiden or early cruises. Nice unique addition for a vintage jewelry or nautical collector.
Measures about 1 1/8" (inches) in diameter
Nautical Boating Navy Sterling roped motif around outer edge. Most of the gorgeous shimmering iridescent blue morpho butterfly wing background is still intact with just a bit of minor loss mostly at upper right edge only & does not really detract to the overall eye appeal.
(Difficult to image the beauty of the morpho wing
background
which is about 95% intact)
Rounded domed convex original glass top in perfect flawless condition. Has old-style barrel tube hinge pin with open C clasp which was used circa 1850's to about 1880 Mid-Victorian Era...thus leading me to suspect the Shipton Company used an older Sterling brooch mount for this unique & rare piece!
Stamped on reverse: MADE IN ENGLAND ~ STERLING SILVER ~ PT 220213
(SEE FASCINATING HISTORY OF THIS SHIP BELOW)
Excellent vintage condition. Pin on reverse still very strong.
Sold as pictured, see photos for condition.
Please see my other listings for more Designer STERLING & other great vintage jewelry.
FOR COMBINED SHIPPING ON MULTIPLE PURCHASES
- PLEASE ADD TO CART & "REQUEST TOTAL FROM SELLER".
Payment must be made within 3 days of purchase.    Please see attached pics & make all inquiries prior to purchasing.
HISTORY OF RMS FRANCONIA
The RMS Franconia was an ocean liner operated by the Cunard Line from 1922 to 1956. She was second of three liners named Franconia which served the Cunard Line, the others being RMS Franconia built in 1910 and the third Franconia in 1963.
Pre-War
She was launched on 21 October 1922 at the John Brown & Co shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland. Her maiden voyage was between Liverpool and New York in June 1923; she was employed on this route in the summer months until World War II. In the winter she was used on world cruises.
On 26 December 1926, Franconia ran aground at San Juan, Puerto Rico. She was refloated on 29 December 1926.
She had a collision in Shanghai harbour in April 1929 with an Italian gunboat and a Japanese cargo steamer.
Wartime service
In September 1939, she was requisitioned as a troopship after refitting at Liverpool. She had a collision off Malta with a French troop ship called the Marietta Pacha and was escorted to Malta by the armed merchant cruiser Alcantara, but was repaired in time to take part in the Norwegian campaign. On 16 June 1940, while en route to St Nazaire as part of Operation Ariel (the evacuation of the Second British Expeditionary Force from France), she was damaged by near-misses from German bombs and was escorted back to Liverpool for repairs.
Later in the war, she took troops to India and took part in landings at Madagascar, North Africa, Italy and the Azores. In 1945 she was used as a headquarters ship for Winston Churchill and the British delegation at the Yalta Conference. At the end of the war in Europe, Franconia made several trips across the Atlantic carrying returning US troops and refugees. After VJ Day she was employed repatriating British troops, including freed Prisoners of War, from India. During her government service, she had covered 319,784 miles (514,642 km) and carried 189,239 military personnel.
Post-war
Franconia was returned to Cunard in June 1948 and was refitted on Clydeside; finally resuming passenger service on 2 June 1949 on the Liverpool to Quebec and Liverpool to Halifax routes. In this role, Franconia brought many postwar immigrants and refugees to Canada. The ship sailed from Liverpool 28 June 1949 and arrived Quebec 5 July and sailed from Liverpool again 21 July arriving Quebec 28 July. In July 1950 she went aground on the Île d'Orléans in the Saint Lawrence River after leaving Quebec.[13] After being pulled off the reef she was repaired and resumed in service on the Canadian run in September 1950. The Franconia was retired in 1956 with her fleetmate RMS Ascania having been replaced on the Canadian run by the Saxonia, Ivernia and the Carinthia.
Legacy
Franconia's pre-war around-the-world cruises and distinguished wartime service made her a popular name within Cunard so in 1963, RMS Ivernia was renamed Franconia to continue the name within the company. In recognition of her important Canadian immigration role, Cunard Line gave the builder's model of Franconia to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
RMS FRANCONIA at West Circular Quay in Sydney (8266248782).jpg
RMS Franconia in Sydney, Australia
History
Name:   RMS Franconia
Owner:  Cunard Line
Port of registry: United Kingdom Liverpool
Builder: John Brown & Co, Clydebank
Launched:           21 October 1922
Completed:         June 1923
Maiden voyage: 23 June 1923
Fate:      Scrapped at Inverkeithing by Thos. W. Ward, December 1956
General characteristics
Type:     Ocean liner
Tonnage:             20,175 GRT
Length: 601.3 ft (183.3 m)
Beam:   73.7 ft (22.5 m)
Depth:   40.6 ft (12.4 m)
Installed power: 2,562 NHP; 13,500 SHP
Propulsion:          Six steam turbines with double reduction gearing; twin screws
Speed:   16.5 knots (30.6 km/h)
Capacity:             1,700 passengers