Designed as spread wings set throughout with 283 old-mine diamonds for circa 14.00 carats, can be worn as two separate single wings or as one big brooch linked together by a central diamond, mounted in silver and gold, with French importation marks, circa 1860, with a red leather fitted case, brooch and tiara mountings.

In Greek mythology, Hermes, messenger of the gods, wore a winged helmet and winged sandals which enabled him to fly between the mortal and immortal worlds. Until the nineteenth century, representations of Hermes became part of the classical repertoire as , for example, by the statue of Mercury sculpted by Bertel  in Copenhagen (1818). In the second half of the nineteenth century, the winged motif appears in the operas of Richard Wagner, and winged helmets of Germanic inspiration were worn by famous opera singers. Very quickly, the wing theme migrated from theatres to fancy high society balls, and from there, the fashion of diadems and winged brooches was launched.