Lalaounis Biosymbols Silver Brooch

Entwined snakes? Nope, sperm! This brooch is from Lalaounis's “Biosymbols” collection which was designed in 1972 and based on images of cells, ova, and spermatozoa viewed under a microscope; in this case the brooch represents entwined spermatazoa transformed into an elegant piece of jewelry. Lalaounis is a renowned Greek jewelry house founded in 1969 by Ilias Lalaounis and carried on today by his daughters. Lalaounis was the fourth generation of goldsmiths in his family and got his start in 1940 working for his uncle’s firm, Zolotas, another noted Greek jewelry house. Lalaounis’s first collections, designed for Zalotas, were inspired by Minoan, Mycenean, Classical, and Hellenistic jewelry. After he branched out on his own his inspirations expanded to Paleaolithic, Neolithic, and Byzantine art, along with design from other cultures such as Celtic, Persian, Scythian, and Mughal. His interests in the 1970’s expanded to include science and technology; motion in space, nature, and art; and dance choreography. Scroll down for more details