It’s the stars that pique my interest first. Complete with 10 sharp points each and countless micro-diamonds, the stellar hairpins by A. E. Köchert were said to be the signature of Austria’s arguably most beloved royal: Empress Elisabeth, fondly known as Sisi, a free-spirited 19th-century duchess sent from her home in Bavaria to marry the Austrian emperor, Franz Joseph. (Legend has it she was something of an influencer of the analog age, sparking trends without the assistance of filters or algorithms.) When Franz Joseph commissioned the jewelry house to create 27 of the sparkling decorations for his wife’s famously long dark hair—reportedly inspired by a glamorous opera singer’s costume—it ignited a national sensation, and cemented the brand’s status as the go-to atelier for Austria’s Habsburg family.
Today, A. E. Köchert remains as relevant as ever within Europe’s high-society circles (they are discreet about their V.I.P. clients, but Princess Caroline of Monaco is a known fan), while retaining a certain level of under-the-radar intrigue.They don’t invest in traditional advertising or seed their jewelry among highly visible Hollywood types. Many of its top customers have been shopping with the company for years, as their parents did before them. Most items are one-offs, which shoppers learn about through a catalogue; the rest are bespoke. The house is known for its work with unexpectedly bright and colorful stones—jade in particular—as well as collaborations with art-world luminaries such as the pickle-loving sculptor Erwin Wurm. But even still, over two centuries into the company’s history, it’s Sisi’s celestial hair ornaments that remain their most famous of treasures.