What is a double clip brooch?
By Jared James · Last updated 21 May 2026
Definition
A double clip brooch, sometimes called a duette, is made of two complementary halves on a shared frame. Together they form a unified design that fastens as a conventional brooch, but each half can be detached and worn separately as individual dress clips on a lapel, collar or neckline. This versatility made the double clip particularly fashionable in the Art Deco and Retro periods of the 1920s through the 1940s, and examples from those eras in platinum with diamonds are highly collectible.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a dress clip in jewellery?
- A dress clip is a decorative jewellery piece with a hinged or spring-tension clip on the back rather than a pin, designed to grip onto fabric without piercing it. Double clip brooches can be separated into two individual dress clips, so you have three pieces of jewellery in one.
- How do you wear a double clip brooch?
- As a complete brooch it pins like a standard brooch using the combined frame. Detached, each clip slides onto a collar edge, lapel, belt or pocket top without needing a pin. The clips grip the fabric with spring tension.
- Are double clip brooches still made today?
- New examples are made but they are relatively rare in current fine jewellery. Most double clips you encounter are vintage or antique, particularly from the Art Deco period when the form was at its most sophisticated and widely produced.
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